"Where is Sun Xiaomao?" Cheng Dalei, who was sitting crookedly in his chair, asked.
Wu Yong came back to his senses, bowed and said: "Standing in prison."
Cheng Dalei stood up and said, "Take me to see him."
Wu Yong led Cheng Dalei to the prison. There were still quite a few people in prison. Some of them were soldiers who took advantage of the city's destruction to cause trouble. Their crimes were not serious and were not punishable by death, so they were imprisoned for the time being. Some of them were in prison for the time being.
He was a surrendered general from Liangzhou City. When he saw Cheng Dalei coming in, he had the courage to curse at his mother.
Walking all the way in, we came to a cell. Inside was a young man with a fair face and no beard, who looked somewhat delicate. When he saw Cheng Dalei, he immediately fell to his knees and touched his head to the ground, refusing to get up.
Cheng Dalei looked at him through the prison bars and said, "Look up at me."
Only then did Sun Xiaomao dare to raise his head and said: "The boss will punish his subordinates with death."
Cheng Dalei didn't speak, and looked at his face carefully. He was just a young man in his early twenties. Although he was a fierce man on the battlefield, his eyes still had a childish look. There was a fiery anger, and he still wanted to be good.
Live for a few years and use up all your flesh and blood before you give up.
"Sun Xiaomao, are you afraid of death?"
Sun Xiaomao shook his head firmly without saying a word.
Cheng Dalei stood up and walked away without looking back.
As he walked out of the cell, the sun was scorching hot outside, and Cheng Dalei let out a long breath.
"Master, how should we deal with this Sun Xiaomao?"
"Three days later at noon, behead."
What Cheng Dalei said outside the prison did not take long to spread throughout the city, and people in the streets were talking about it.
Even Cui Baiyu and the others who stayed at the city lord's mansion heard it.
"Miss, can Cheng... the master really kill that person?" Xiaolu, who was busy in the study, asked in a low voice when he saw no one around him.
"Kill one to serve as a warning to others and win over people's hearts. There is nothing worth making a fuss about." Cui Baiyu said lightly. Born in the Prime Minister's Mansion, she was tired of seeing such things. Not to mention an unknown soldier, even the brothers of life and death would kill him.
.
At this moment, Cheng Dalei came in and the four of them started talking to each other at the same time.
"How is the matter handled?" Cheng Dalei asked after sitting down.
Cui Baiyu handed over a piece of material that he had compiled. After Cheng Dalei spread it out, he could not help but praise it when he saw the beautiful small regular script in his hand.
However, in a short period of time, Cui Baiyu had an idea. She divided the big households in the city into four classes according to their wealth, and stipulated the taxes in turn. She used the knife at the right time. Of course, Cheng Dalei couldn't completely trust her yet, but she worked until
This level is really worthy of Cheng Dalei's applause.
"You are worthy of being my female Zhuge."
"Who is Zhuge?" Cui Baiyu asked with a frown.
Cheng Dalei curled his lips and changed the subject: "Okay, there is no need to worry about such insignificant details. You finish this matter quickly. If you do a good job, I will remember it in my heart and will not wrong you in the future."
of."
Cui Baiyu nodded silently. It was hard to make her happy by committing herself to a thief. However, this was also a desperate solution. At least, the situation was not worse than the worst.
Cheng Dalei's eyes wandered over Cui Baiyu, who was now covered in black gauze, which relieved a lot of pressure on Cheng Dalei.
"Come, I have something to ask Miss Cui."
"Mr. Cheng speaks directly when he has something to say. He doesn't dare to ask for advice."
Cheng Dalei cleared his throat and said, "I believe you also know what happened in the city. I would like to ask, how would Mr. Cui Xiang handle this matter?"
Cui Baiyu frowned and thought for a while, then said: "You have to look at people and things. If this happened, I'm afraid that my father will do the same thing as Mr. Cheng."
"It turns out that Prime Minister Cui would do this too." Cheng Dalei nodded lightly.
Cui Baiyu understood clearly in his mind that Sun Xiaomao had no relatives in the army, so he was the perfect candidate to kill him as a warning to others. Why not kill him to gain the people's support? Cheng Dalei didn't know what was bothering him.
Cheng Dalei waved, and Xiang Zhu handed over a cup of fragrant tea. Cheng Dalei held the tea cup in his hand, but did not drink. He thought for a long time and said, "Your Majesty... who is he?"
Cui Baiyu was startled: "Why does Mr. Cheng ask this?"
"Let's chat casually, I suddenly want to know something more."
Cui Baiyu thought seriously for a while and said: "As Baiyu has encountered in his life, there are two people I can't understand the most, and one of them is my father."
"What about the other one?" Cheng Dalei's curiosity was aroused.
"The other one is Mr. Cheng."
Cheng Dalei touched his nose and said: "How can I be compared with Cui Xiang? Let's not talk about me. Let's talk about your father. What is the old man's approach?"
Cui Baiyu said: "To outsiders, my father is just an ordinary old man. He has been able to get all the way to this day because he is willing to do things and do everything he can."
Cheng Dalei nodded: "Having the courage to be the first and perseverance are indeed essential qualities for those who achieve great things. What about others? Do you have any friends?"
Cui Baiyu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "The world is so big, who is qualified to be friends with my father."
Cheng Dalei didn't know what he was thinking, so he said casually: "Then my father must be very lonely in this life."
This sentence touched Cui Baiyu's mind, and she tried to recall the impression of her father in her mind. He was indeed an ordinary old man, but no one would underestimate him. Every move of the old man would affect the empire's momentum. He could make decisions in silence, but he could strategize thousands of miles.
outside.
Cui Baiyu has always been afraid of Cui Xiang. In her impression, Cui Xiang represents wisdom, strength, and silence. But she never expected that the first word Cheng Dalei captured from his father was loneliness.
The old man's wife died early and did not have a second marriage. There were many concubines in the family, and there were women from all over who came to pay filial piety. Cui Baiyu was actually a concubine. If it were not for her beauty and wisdom, her status in the family would not be high.
My father has had many women in his life, but if anyone can have a heart-to-heart with him, I am afraid there will be none. As for his children and grandchildren, the old man is also strategizing and cannot let any one of them become the boss.
This is true for his own descendants, let alone the aristocratic family he has surrendered to, the aloof Li royal family.
In my memory, my father has always been sitting in that dark study room, mastering the strategies of controlling his subordinates, the art of recognizing people, driving away wolves and devouring tigers... My father is very knowledgeable in these skills. In this big world, it is estimated that no one knows what is in the heart of the old man.
What to think.
But if it weren't for Cheng Dalei's nod, Cui Baiyu would probably never have thought that the wise old man sitting in the study was indeed a little lonely.
Under Prime Minister Cui, above tens of thousands of people, there are many people kneeling in front of his knees. Such an old man will naturally enjoy all the wealth and honor in the world. But for ordinary people to brag and spank with their old friends in a restaurant in the field, he is afraid that he is