At the first watch of the morning, there was a clutter of footsteps outside the county government office and torches shining brightly.
Jiang Sheng, who was on alert on the wall, immediately came to report that dozens of people had come to the county government office. Li Hui knew that it was Wang Guangzu, Zhou Che and others who had come. So he ordered the courtyard door to be opened, and stood dressed at the entrance of the lobby to wait.
When the courtyard door opened, dozens of refugee soldiers swarmed in. After they entered the courtyard, these people quickly occupied every corner. A dozen people circled the back of the lobby and controlled the passage behind the lobby.
Zhao Dachun, Jiang Sheng and others stood beside Li Hui with weapons in hand, waiting in full formation. However, Li Hui waved his hand to tell them not to be nervous, and whispered to them not to act rashly.
Tonight is a negotiation, not a fight.
After some confusion, two strong men came in holding torches at the gate of the courtyard. Then Wang Guangzu was seen striding in from the gate of the courtyard with his hands on his waist and the hilt of a sword around his waist. Following him was none other than Zhou Che.
Li Hui stood at the door of the lobby and cupped his hands far away and said: "Li Hui, the Prime Minister of Juchao County, would like to welcome Marshal Wang and Deputy Marshal Zhou to your presence. It's very polite."
Wang Guangzu strode to the bottom of the steps without returning the courtesy. He walked in proudly and sat down on the main seat behind the desk in the lobby, with his feet raised on the desk.
Zhou Che, on the other hand, cupped his hands and nodded: "President Li, you're polite."
Li Hui didn't take it seriously. He turned around and entered the lobby. He smiled and motioned for Zhou Che to sit down. He also sat on the wooden pier beside him.
Wang Guangzu looked at the sky, shook his legs and said loudly: "This county government hall is nice. I was going to stay here, but I heard that this place is haunted, which is a bit unlucky. Now it seems that I have to worry too much. Li County Cheng
, when will you let us live in this county government office?"
Li Hui chuckled and said: "If Marshal Wang wants to live in the county government, I will pack up my bed and give up immediately. However, I am afraid that Marshal Wang will not be able to live safely."
Wang Guangzu glared at Li Hui and said, "How can you say this?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "Because there are people outside the city who have special resentment towards the people in the county government. I heard that the people living in the county government did not end well. They were beheaded and their families were destroyed.
There are so many.”
Wang Guangzu's eyes were cold and he said in a deep voice: "Don't you live here and still live well?"
Li Hui said with a smile: "Maybe it's because I have a tough life. I come from a poor family and have a humble life, but I am not afraid of death. So I feel at peace for the time being."
Wang Guangzu sneered: "Isn't it our kindness to you?"
Li Hui sneered and said: "Of course not. Marshal Wang, please don't take yourself too seriously. I am alive not because of any kindness, but because of my own toughness."
Wang Guangzu couldn't help but sneer, and he suddenly stood up, unsheathing the steel knife at his waist. But with a loud sound, the steel knife was struck on the table, penetrated the wood several times, and was inserted into it. The blade made a buzzing sound and shook.
"Is your life stronger, or is my sword stronger? I want to see." Wang Guangzu shouted sharply.
There was a loud sound of weapons being unsheathed all around. Zhao Dachun, Guo Dazhuang, Jiang Sheng and others all drew their weapons. The dozen or so refugee soldiers in the room also drew their weapons. The two sides were about to engage in a fight.
Li Huiduan sat still, frowning as he looked at the ring-shou knife swinging on the table in front of him.
"What? Do you want to have a fight with us? Just you guys?" Wang Guangzu shouted loudly.
Li Hui slowly said: "Jiang Sheng, Dachun, put away your weapons, what are you doing? The visitor is a guest. Marshal Wang was just joking. How can my life be harder than the blade? There is no need to try it.
Try it. Get out."
Jiang Sheng said: "Xian Cheng, they..."
"Get out!" Li Hui shouted.
Jiang Sheng had no choice but to shut up, waved his hand, and led several nursing staff out of the lobby. Zhao Dachun and Guo Dazhuang stood motionless. Li Hui frowned and said, "You two should go out too."
The two had no choice but to stagger out dragging the iron rod.
"Humph, I guess you're wise." Wang Guangzu sneered repeatedly, stretched out his hand to pull out the steel knife, put it into the sheath with a click, and sat down again.
"Marshal Wang, I hope you can be as tough on the lake bandit Feng Heizi and his gang as you are on us." Li Hui said lightly.
"What?" Wang Guangzu jumped up again and said angrily: "What do you mean? Do you think I'm groveling to Feng Heizi's gang? I just killed more than twenty of them last night."
Li Hui sneered and said: "But the people in the city are afraid that more people will die, and a lot of your people should die too. Marshal Wang himself is also injured."
When Wang Guangzu entered the door, Li Hui saw that his left arm was wrapped in white cloth with a slight trace of blood seeping out. Li Hui immediately guessed that he was injured in a fight with the lake bandits last night.
Wang Guangzu was even more angry. He was injured in his left arm by a cold arrow fired by the lake bandits last night. He was annoyed when Li Hui saw it. Originally, the injury was nothing, but listening to Li Hui's words, it seemed that he was mocking his own incompetence.
"What on earth are you going to say? You are forcing me to kill you because of your evil spirits?" Wang Guangzu's eyes were full of fierceness, and he was indeed murderous.
Li Hui shook his head and said: "What I mean is that our common enemies are not each other, but the lake bandits in the big lake outside the city. After last night, doesn't Marshal Wang still understand? Even if you kill us, the bandits outside the city will also
It will make you restless. What happened last night will happen again and again. If the commander-in-chief can't protect the people in the city, then what kind of commander is he? I believe that Deputy Commander Zhou has conveyed his intention to the commander-in-chief. The commander-in-chief is here tonight
, don’t you want to discuss cooperation with me? Why do you come up and use knives and guns to threaten? Isn’t this the attitude of negotiation?”
Wang Guangzu glared at Li Hui and suddenly burst into laughter. He turned to Zhou Che and said, "Brother, did you hear that? This kid is so arrogant and eloquent. He really thinks of himself as a person. Hahaha. A young boy who is just pretending to be mature.
, it’s really ridiculous.”
Zhou Che smiled and said: "Commander...it's better to listen to what he has to say and discuss it."
"I'm talking nonsense!" Wang Guangzu said angrily.
Zhou Che frowned and remained silent.
Wang Guangzu turned to Li Hui and sneered: "Boy, I have no interest in fighting the lake bandits. That is what the imperial court has to do. Does it have anything to do with me? How does the imperial court treat us? We will respond to Huan Da Sima's Northern Expedition.
, who delivered food and water, and was loyal to the imperial court. As a result, Huan Da Sima was defeated and ignored us. How many of us died at the hands of rogue thieves? We went through all kinds of hardships to reach Jin Dynasty. We thought
The imperial court will take care of them and comfort them, but what will happen? Hehe, we are trapped here by them and are not allowed to go anywhere. I sent a letter to Wang Muzhi, the governor of Liyang County, asking him to provide food and supplies and help us tide over the difficulties. Request
He reported to the court and explained our difficulties. As a result, they not only ignored us, but also set up roadblocks on the official road, strictly forbidding us to leave. Hahaha, the court treats us like this, and we still work hard for them? Don’t even think about it.
. Even if all the people here are dead, they don’t dare to do anything to us. If Feng Heizi and the others come again, I will take the people to evacuate, and they can do whatever they want, and it’s none of our business? It’s really a joke.”
Wang Guangzu was extremely excited, foaming at the mouth, and banging the table as he spoke. Obviously, he was very angry at the attitude of the Jin Dynasty towards them. In the past two months of coming to Juchao County, he was probably in trouble.
.
Li Hui nodded slowly and said in a deep voice: "Commander Wang, please be patient and listen to me."
Wang Guangzu sneered and said: "What is there to say? Suppressing the lake bandits is your business, not my business. Cooperation? I won't do that stupid thing. Even if all the people die, they won't do our business."
Li Hui said in a deep voice: "Marshal Wang, the court's attitude towards the refugees has always been this way, and it is not specifically aimed at you. Since the Su Jun Rebellion, the court has prohibited refugees from crossing the river. In various parts of the north of the Yangtze River, refugee commanders have turned into bandits and committed illegal acts.
There are many people, and it is reasonable for the imperial court to distrust the refugees going south. It is also right for you to be angry because of the injustice and cold treatment you have suffered. But you must not break the pot because of this. The imperial court is watching. If Marshal Wang and Deputy Marshal Zhou are indeed
If you relieve the court's worries, resolve local banditry, and appease local refugees, the court will naturally look at you differently."
Wang Guangzu sneered and said: "You can't even think of deceiving me with your words. The imperial court refuses to send troops and provide food, but it wants us to solve the banditry for them? Is it a waste of money? It's a good idea. Do you think we are fools?"
Li Hui shook his head and said: "That's wrong. If the imperial court sent troops and food, solved the banditry, and appeased the people, is that still credit? That is the credit of the imperial court, but not the credit of the commander-in-chief. If the commander-in-chief can be here
If you show ability under such circumstances, the court will treat you differently. It is difficult for a clever woman to make a pot of rice without rice, but if a clever woman can cook a pot of rice without rice, wouldn't it be amazing to everyone?"
Wang Guangzu couldn't help but sneered, shook his head and said: "Boy, you are not even hairy yet, and you want to trick me? I think you are tired of living. I'm afraid even you don't believe what you say."
Li Hui said seriously: "Marshal Wang, do you know why Magistrate Lu and I came to take up our posts even though we knew that lake bandits were entrenched in Juchao County and were extremely dangerous? Our situation is more difficult than yours, right? Neither do we.
Coming here with troops, horses and food, many people think that we are here to die."
"You're just here to die, what's the point? In my opinion, your brains are probably stuck in the mud." Wang Guangzu sneered.
Li Hui said in a deep voice: "That's your opinion, but we don't think so. We are here to show our abilities and make some achievements. When acting as a true man, we should overcome difficulties and obstacles and be able to do what ordinary people do.
No, that's our skill. The court asked us to come, so we came. It's just that we didn't know that Marshal Wang's men were here. This was a variable. But because of this, it would be easier to annihilate the lake bandits and appease the people. If Marshal Wang
If you are willing to cooperate, if we become one, wouldn’t we be stronger? What we all dare to do, Marshal Wang doesn’t dare to do now?”
Wang Guangzu said coldly: "Tell me, how do you plan to deal with these lake bandits if we are not here? I want to hear your clever tricks."
Seeing that his mood had gradually eased, Li Hui began to take the initiative to ask questions. He knew in his heart that his words had actually had an effect on him. The next thing to do was to further convince him, dispel his doubts, and give him a picture.