Lu Kai clenched his fist and hit the pillar in the room hard, causing the pillar to tremble and dust falling down.
Li Sheng waved his hand to blow away the dust and said comfortingly: "Prefect Lu, following my lord is actually a good thing."
"What do you know?!" Lu Kai glared at him angrily.
"A mere three thousand men and horses, even if they were rampant in Jiaozhou for a while, how could they withstand Soochow's 100,000-strong army?"
Angry as he was, Lu Kai also knew that the done deal was now over and there was no way back. This attitude was already expressed in his title to Wu.
Li Sheng opened his mouth, intending to tell Lu Kai that Ma Di's true combat power was that even with only three thousand men, he could defeat the hundred thousand soldiers of Soochow. However, after thinking about it for a while, he said nothing in the end.
Two days later, news came that as soon as the Wu army arrived at Guishui, they were washed to pieces by the pouring water. At the same time, soldiers composed of 800 bandits came like wolves and tigers and defeated the Wu army.
Lu Dai escaped with only a few cavalry.
Seeing that it was as expected by his brother-in-law (Ma Su), Lu Kai was shocked at his excellent military capabilities and at the same time extremely anxious. If this incident made Sun Quan furious and sent troops to attack, he only had 3,000 troops on his side.
, what is the opponent?
At least 40,000 to 50,000 troops would be enough.
But where can we find so many soldiers in a short period of time? Where will the money come from to recruit soldiers? Where will the money come from for equipment?
Most of his family's assets are real estate, and there is not that much liquidity.
Lu Kai, who had brought himself into Sun Quan's hostile side, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
Ma Su drank wine leisurely and said: "Brother, don't worry, as long as you have money, recruiting troops and horses is not easy."
"Oh, my brother-in-law, who is both civilized and military, is wise and powerful, don't we have no money? Brother Yu's little possessions, even if he spends all of them, can only recruit 20,000 horses. Where is the equipment? Where will the new recruits get their combat effectiveness?
That's the regular army of Wu State. Do you think you can use this water attack strategy a second time? If I have enough money now, of course I don't have to be so anxious!"
Hearing this, Ma Su tasted the food and suddenly came back to his senses. He looked at Lu Kai and said, "Brother, are you supporting me?"
Anyway, there is no way out. He has been labeled as "the third accomplice of Shishi". Lu Kai's attitude changed very quickly, "Nonsense, I am just a sister. If I don't support you, who else can you support?"
After saying that, Lu Kai looked at Ma Su suspiciously: "Could you have a way to get money?"
Ma Su smiled and nodded.
Lu Kai was overjoyed and struck each other with his palms, making a "pop" sound: "What is the solution? Tell me quickly?!"
Ma Su calmly put down his wine glass: "There are three big families in Yulin County, the Wang family, the Huang family, and the Li family. Each of them has a lot of assets. There are also eleven small families. Can't they just put together this little money?
!”
Lu Kai glanced at Ma Su in surprise.
Do you think the money from these fourteen families belongs to you?
Not to mention that these fourteen families are huge and deeply rooted in the local area and cannot be easily touched. The mere act of operating on fourteen families is unheard of in this era, and no one in a high position would dare to do such a thing.
If you really do this, you will find it difficult to move forward in the future. No matter where you go, you will encounter fierce resistance from the local wealthy families.
In this era, offending a wealthy family means reaching the end.
Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei were powerful enough. They all eventually compromised with the big clan.
You, a small force just starting out, actually want to take action against a big clan?
Brother-in-law, what exactly do you think?
Ma Su did not argue with Lu Kai, but slowly took out a roll of bamboo, spread it on the table, and carefully analyzed the stakes of "fighting the landlords" for Lu Kai.
1. Sooner or later, Sun Quan's army will definitely attack. At that time, if there are not enough soldiers and horses, they will have no choice but to escape. The result of escape will be to lose the city they finally obtained and the wealthy families under their rule.
If you give it to Sun Quan, you will still be in the dilemma of having no place to stay.
Second, if you choose to resist, you will need enough soldiers, and recruiting soldiers requires a lot of money. According to the current situation, military expenses can only be paid by the fourteen wealthy families, because the Lu family does not have enough money, and the common people have no money.
Third, once the money of the tycoons is used, they will be kidnapped on their own chariot because of this. If you don't ask them for the money today, when Sun Quan's army comes, they will immediately turn around and deal with you in turn.
.
Lu Kai frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded against his will.
I have to say that my brother-in-law’s analysis makes sense.
"But, my shrewd brother-in-law, how can I make the fourteen families willing to give money? Even my second brother's previous actions depended on their faces." Lu Kai asked.
"That's a good question!" Ma Di snapped his fingers, "Since you had to look at their faces before doing things, today is the perfect time to take action on them."
"As for offending others, brother, don't worry. Li Tong's second brother was killed in battle because his concubine was robbed a few days ago. Meng'er stabbed him to death with a sword. After Li Tong's death, his son Li Da took over the Li family.
.Now, it’s time to settle this score.”
What a great idea... Lu Kai's eyes moved, and he conspired with Ma Su for a long time, and didn't leave until dark.
When Ma Su returned to his new house with the big red word "happy" hanging on it, he reached out and gave Lu Meng, who had a sad face, a lift.
She was immediately provoked to yell and fight with pink fists.
Three days later.
Fourteen families received an invitation from the new governor "Shisan" and came to the governor's mansion to attend a banquet and discuss important matters together.
When Ma Su accompanied Lu Kai to the main hall, people from the fourteen families stood up to greet him and bowed their hands.
Ma Su greeted everyone present one by one, and soon came to Li Da. Li Da awkwardly bowed his hands and saluted. When he met Ma Su's meaningful gaze, his heart suddenly jumped.
After everyone was seated, Ma Su returned to the main seat, invited his sister-in-law, and made a circle bow with his hands.
"Everyone, Shi is being polite."
When everyone saw Ma Su wearing the official uniform of a prefect and performing such a grand ceremony, they couldn't help but become worried.
When you treat others with courtesy, you must ask for something.
Sure enough, Ma Su said: "Everyone must already know my origin. An ancestor of Shi Mou has been here for more than thirty years and has been very kind to the people. However, this ancestral inheritance was arbitrarily taken away by Sun Quan."
"I invite you all here today for one thing only, and that is to restore my family's ancestral property."
Everyone was not surprised why "Shi San" said this, and some people had even guessed what he was going to say next.
Yes, the four southwest counties of Jiaozhou have been the territory of the Shi family since the late Eastern Han Dynasty. After Sun Quan seized this place by force, many people refused to accept it, and small-scale rebellions often broke out in recent years.
Now the descendants of the Shi family want to take back their ancestral property, which is reasonable and normal.
Ma Su continued: "Now I have defeated Lu Dai, the governor of Jiaozhou, and wiped out all his tribesmen. In a short period of time, no more troops will invade the territory. However, Sun Quan will not give up. According to my speculation, there will be at most two more troops."
By the end of the month, Soochow's 100,000-strong army will reach Yulin County."
A hundred thousand troops?
Everyone was in a panic, whispering to each other, and talking about it.
Ma Di then said: "Sun Quan and I have a grudge against killing my brother and seizing the land, and we are irreconcilable. If the enemy's army comes, I can only remain invincible by training my troops to protect myself. So today, I hope you can do something for me."
I recruit troops and contribute my strength."
Realizing that Shi San (Ma Di) wanted to ask them for money, everyone fell silent.
Seeing that everyone started to fall silent and the atmosphere fell into embarrassment, Ma Su said calmly: "Everyone, your money, women, houses, land, and food are all here. Once the Wu army captures Yulin County, according to their past style of dealing with rebels, they will inevitably
If you want to massacre the city, no matter how much property you have, you won't be able to use it even if people die."
"You will be killed by Wu Jun for collaborating with the enemy, your wives and daughters will become Wu Jun's playthings, your family property will be robbed, and you will be unable to keep anything."
"However, if you contribute money today, I can recruit soldiers to protect your safety, and your family property can continue to be preserved."
"After defeating the Wu army, it won't take long for the property you lost to be regained."
"How to decide is the most beneficial, please weigh it yourself."
Everyone was so frightened by Ma Su's speech that they could not sit still. When they heard that "the lost property can still be earned back," they gradually had a tendency in their hearts, but they were still hesitant.
The scene was still deathly silent.
No one stood up first.
Everyone is waiting and watching.
Seeing this, Ma Di waved his hand, and Zhang Xiu led a group of soldiers with swords in.
Seeing the soldiers entering the scene, all the family heads looked a little flustered, feeling as if their buttocks were sitting on the crater of a volcano.
Ma Su said to Li Da with a smile: "Master Li, would you like to make a statement first?"
