Li Cheng stood aside with his head lowered and said nothing. Su Ren glanced at him: "Li Cheng!"
"My subordinate is here!"
"I will give you a chance now. You go to Zhuo Wangsun tonight and tell him that I am going to open an iron smelting workshop and seize his mine so that he can prepare!"
"Ah!" Li Cheng's legs went weak and he knelt down again: "Colonel, I don't dare to do this. I will never betray the captain!"
Su Ren stretched out his hand to pull Li Cheng up: "What are you afraid of? If I tell you to go, you can go. You must make Zhuo Wangsun believe that if you can't complete it, you will be punished for both crimes!"
"this……"
"Still not going?"
"No!" Li Cheng cupped his fists and handed over his hands, exiting the camp gate.
Huo Jin and Gou Tianming watched Li Cheng disappear at the gate of the camp and hurriedly gathered around him: "Brother, what are you doing? If you want to kill this guy, just give him an order. Why bother?"
Sima Xiangru twirled his beard with his hand: "The highest level of conspiracy is to make you unable to prevent a conspiracy. You know it is a conspiracy but you can only jump in. This is the great thing about sir!"
Su Ren chuckled: "Brother Sima knows that you must be the councilor of the captain's mansion!"
"Hahaha..." Sima Xiangru laughed loudly: "Hey! Everyone's official position is getting bigger and bigger, but it's better for me. I was still the county magistrate before, but now I'm just the councilor of the principal's office. If I tell it, the whole world will laugh at me.
of!"
Su Ren poured a cup of tea for Sima Xiangru: "Don't worry, I promise that I will double the compensation in the future. When the time comes, I won't even say that I will be granted a title of marquis or prime minister!"
"Forget it, I still think the school captain Yi Cao is more suitable for me!"
The two were chatting and joking, while Hawking and Gou Tianming looked at each other confused.
Li Cheng walked alone on the way back to Chengdu, walking around the gate of hell, feeling like he was surviving a catastrophe. The other people who knelt with him all night did not see the morning sun. Today, there are only 20 people left in the county barracks.
There are a few old, weak, sick and disabled people, and many things that were previously planned have come to nothing.
Li Cheng did not ride a horse. When the soldier who was guarding the city came to the city gate and was about to step forward, he glared at him and the soldier quickly retreated. No one paid attention to him, and Li Cheng returned to his home.
He didn't even have a bowl of hot water, so he raised his hand and knocked the tea set on the table to the ground. The servants were so frightened that they didn't dare to come in. He was Sima, and although he was not a close confidant of the former captain, he still had some advantages.
I bought a house in Chengdu and hired two servants.
A man lost his temper and lay on the couch to slowly calm down. After a long time, he stood up leisurely and said, "Here comes someone!"
A servant walked in bravely. Li Chengdao: "Go and tell the housekeeper of the Zhuo family that I have confidential matters to go to Shopkeeper Zhuo. Remember, you can't let anyone know!"
"No!" the servant ran out as if running away.
After staying at home for a whole day, Li Cheng changed his clothes at night, opened the back door of his house and went out of the yard. He was familiar with the roads and walked around several alleys. He came to the back door of Zhuo's house on Baihua Lane and knocked lightly.
After two clicks, the courtyard door opened. The person who opened the door was the housekeeper of the Zhuo family.
I followed the housekeeper into the courtyard. The courtyard was dark and dim. If there was no one to lead the way, I don’t know where I would go. Ever since Zhuo Wenjun, the daughter of the Zhuo family, opened a wine shop opposite the Zhuo family’s gate, the Zhuo family’s door has never been opened. Everyone
The fact that everyone enters and exits through the back door has become a joke among Chengdu people.
Zhuo Wangsun prepared a table of wine and food and sat at the head of the table. When Li Cheng came in, he just nodded slightly. The butler asked Li Cheng to sit at the guest seat and poured him a glass of wine.
Li Cheng raised his neck, drank the wine, and took a deep breath.
"Li Sima, what do you want from me?" Zhuo Wangsun said with a cold face: "Yesterday Su Ren went on a killing spree in the military camp and blackmailed the former captain of 100,000 yuan, but you Li Sima didn't lose even a hair.
what's going on?"
"Ha!" Li Cheng stretched out his hand and twisted a large piece of meat: "Not even a hair is missing? Shopkeeper Zhuo really thinks highly of me. Yesterday I walked through the gate of hell. If I hadn't been quick and quick, I would have been cold by now.
To be honest, last night was the most difficult night in my life, and I shudder to think about it now!"
"Then isn't Li Sima doing well now?" Zhuo Wangsun looked at Li Cheng who was feasting. Li Cheng didn't eat all day and night. Since he went to the military camp yesterday, he knelt in the school military field all night and made a fuss when he returned home.
His temper made his servants afraid to enter his house, let alone eat.
Li Cheng ate deliciously, with a mouthful of wine and a mouthful of meat, his face full of satisfaction.
Zhuo Wangsun looked at it for a long time: "I'm afraid Li Sima came to me late at night not just for dinner, right? Is there something Su Ren wants you to bring to me?"
Li Cheng threw the clean big bone aside, picked up the jug and drank all the wine in it, then wiped his hands on his clothes: "Shopkeeper Zhuo is half right, it's not that Su Ren has something to tell you.
, but it was Su Ren who said that now Shu County is rebuilding its army, so Shopkeeper Zhuo should know what is most lacking, right?"
"Food and armor!"
Li Cheng raised his thumb and said, "As expected of Shopkeeper Zhuo, he got to the point right away. If you want to build an army, food, grass, and soldiers are indispensable. Su Ren officially took over as the captain of Chengdu today. The county soldiers in Chengdu are under the instruction of the captain of the Tang Dynasty."
The remaining ones are all old, weak, sick and disabled, and none of them can fight, so Su Ren plans to find people from among the bandits in Yuanshan."
Zhuo Wangsun had a cold face and said nothing. He was analyzing what Li Cheng said. He already knew what happened in the military camp yesterday. The former captain was stabbed by Su Ren. Sima Ruo, who was left behind, said that Su Ren was not in trouble.
There are only two possibilities for him: first, this guy has taken refuge in Su Ren; second, this guy has taken refuge in Su Ren because he is waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.
"The prefect has agreed to find people from Yuanshan, so Su Ren's soldier problem has been solved. The second point is food and grass. The Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce has occupied most of the shops in Shuzhong, and Su Ren is the man behind the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce.
, if he wants food, Su and Ren can get as much as they want, I believe Shopkeeper Zhuo has no objections to these two points!"
"So, if we want to block Su Ren's neck, we can only work on the third point, and that is the armor! The remaining armor in the military camp is not enough to arm a hundred people, not to mention that according to the imperial court's establishment, Chengdu County soldiers should be in
More than 1,500, so Su Ren’s purchase of armor is the most difficult thing for him!" Li Cheng took a sip: "Shopkeeper Zhuo is our largest iron smelting businessman in Chengdu, and also the largest iron smelting businessman in Shu County and even in the entire Shu.
As an arms manufacturer, as long as Shopkeeper Zhuo doesn’t sell weapons to Su Ren or the Shu County Prefect’s Mansion, then there will be no way for Su Ren to form the army of the county!”
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" The butler of the Zhuo Mansion looked happy and looked at Li Cheng and then at Zhuo Wangsun.
Zhuo Wangsun snorted coldly: "Humph, as an iron smelting merchant, what will we do if we don't sell weapons? I am in Shu County but don't sell soldiers and armor to Shu County. Is Li Sima asking me to offend the entire Shu County officials?"
"How can Shopkeeper Zhuo sell weapons if he doesn't have them?" Li Cheng straightened his legs carelessly. He had knelt all night yesterday and his knees were still hurting. He couldn't bear to continue kneeling.
"Even if I don't sell it, how can Su Ren be helpless?"
"Hahaha..." Li Cheng laughed: "We all know Su Ren's abilities. Other things may not be difficult for him, but this weapon and armor thing is his weakness. You must know that making weapons and armor requires the most effort.
It’s iron, and all the iron ore in Shu County is controlled by Shopkeeper Zhuo. As long as Shopkeeper Zhuo controls the iron ore, no matter how talented Su Ren is, it will be difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice."
"And, I also heard a secret!" Li Cheng stood up and moved to Zhuo Wangsun: "Because Shopkeeper Zhuo controls the iron smelting in Shu County and controls Su Ren's lifeline, Su Ren is ready to take action against Shopkeeper Zhuo
, is also preparing to build his own iron smelting workshop in Chengdu, and is also preparing to rob Shopkeeper Zhuo’s iron ore, Shopkeeper Zhuo must be careful about this!"
"How dare he!" Zhuo Wangsun immediately became anxious, then calmed down suddenly and looked at Li Cheng: "How did you know about such a confidential matter?"
"Su Ren said that!" Li Cheng told Zhuo Wangsun everything about what happened from last night to this morning without hiding anything. Of course, the source of the news covered up Su Ren's explanation by using eavesdropping.
"Whether this is true or not, it's better for Shopkeeper Zhuo to be careful!" After Li Cheng finished speaking, he stood up and patted his butt: "Okay, I'm done with my business and I'm leaving!"
Zhuo Wangsun did not try to stay, and Li Cheng also left. The housekeeper quickly sent Li Cheng out of the house, and when he returned to the lobby, Zhuo Wangsun was still kneeling in the same place. The housekeeper waved his hand and summoned all the servants and servants.
Kicked out.
"Master, what Li Cheng said makes some sense. Regardless of whether it is true or false, do we have to protect ourselves?"
Zhuo Wangsun glanced at the housekeeper: "How to protect ourselves? Su Ren is an official, and we are the people. If he gets up regardless of his face, what can we do?"
"How about we send people to Huainan to see if there is any solution there?" The housekeeper said tentatively: "Or we can send people to find those people. If Su Ren dares to mess around, we can have a countermeasure!
"
Zhuo Wangsun shook his head: "It's useless! It seems that our workshop has to stop working for a while!" Zhuo Wangsun's eyes suddenly turned cold. The butler glanced at it and quickly lowered his head: "Go and hide all the armors that have been made.
Get up, starting from tomorrow all our workshops will stop working, and the mines will also stop. I want to see how Su Ren robs my Zhuo family's mines!"
"No!" the butler agreed, got up and walked out the door. When he reached the door, he turned back and asked, "Then do you still want to find Huainan and those people?"
Zhuo Wangsun thought for a long time: "Look! Since we are together, if we have difficulties here, they must help! Put pressure on Su Ren from the court and see what Su Ren can do!"
The barracks was dark. The barracks that originally accommodated more than 1,500 people now only had a few dozen people. After a bloody day, no one had the intention to sleep. A large group of people gathered in a pile and gathered around a fire.
Su Ren lowered his head and remained silent. Su Ren arranged the remaining people in a hut in the corner of the barracks. They had heard the news that they were of no use to the new captain and they would all be dismissed tomorrow. (Unfinished)
