Chapter two hundred and eighty seventh delivery of military power
Jinling City's 10,000 soldiers and horses were divided into front and rear, and headed straight towards Wu County, the seat of Wu County.
The distance between Wu County and Jinling City is not very far. It can be reached in a few days, passing through Taihu Lake in the meantime.
Just to the east of Taihu Lake, the water thieves leaders arranged by the pottery merchant in Wu County have come here one after another, waiting and preparing to welcome the pottery merchant.
The location of Taihu Lake was once an impact plain of land before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. After the Spring and Autumn Period, the lake gradually invaded the land and turned the land into a lake. It was not until the end of the Tang Dynasty that Taihu Lake was fully formed.
In today's period, although there is water in Taihu Lake, it is mostly blocked by grass and creepers.
Because of this, the scenery here may be far less beautiful than in later generations, but it is obvious that this is a marsh where you can hide and escape at any time.
With their troops and horses displayed here, it seems that these water bandit leaders have already made up their minds.
There are only two reasons why Chen Bing is here. One is to greet the pottery merchant and ask him to help solve the problem of taking credit. The other is that if the matter is really irreversible, then these water thieves leaders will simply use the special marsh in the lake to
Looking for opportunities to escape due to the terrain, this is also their last life-saving trump card.
The pottery merchant didn't care about this. It was their own business if the water bandit leaders wanted to escape, as long as their soldiers did not escape.
And judging from the current situation, few of the water thieves under their command would want to continue working for their original masters.
Some things of the water pirate leaders are just wishful thinking. All they can do now is to wait for the potter to find a way to settle them.
After the pottery merchant entered the stronghold of the water bandit leaders, the leaders warmly welcomed the pottery merchant and arranged a banquet in his tent to welcome him and wash away his dust.
The pottery merchant greeted the bandit leaders with a smile on his face, caring about everyone's living conditions as if the leader was inspecting, but he was not in a hurry to enter the stronghold for a banquet, and he did not mention taking advantage of others.
Although the water thieves leaders were anxious, they did not want to lose their etiquette. They could only follow the potter's rhythm in a cowardly manner.
When the pottery merchant came this time, he still followed Chen Deng's old routine. As soon as he arrived at the water thief's stronghold, he began to distribute food and clothing in a big way.
The people responsible for distributing this reward were Zhou Tai and his navy soldiers.
Looking at the navy soldiers who were giving gifts to the army with Zhou Tai, all of them were brightly dressed and full of energy. The hearts of these navy soldiers who were given alms were broken.
It was broken into pieces and could no longer be touched.
Thoughts that pop up from time to time on weekdays once again resounded in my mind.
They are also water thieves who surrendered to Jinling City. Look at the lives of the people under Gan Ning and Zhou Tai, and look at the lives of us people now!
Compared with them, we are worse than beggars!
A dog-like day!
The act of rewarding the soldiers did not make these water pirate soldiers feel more happy, but instead made them feel more resentful towards their respective leaders.
If it weren't for their selfishness and insistence on independent governance of the county, but they would honestly lead everyone to submit to the Jinling Army like Zhou Tai, Gan Ning and others, how could we be as miserable as we are now?
Those leaders in my family are simply stupid ass!
Why don't they die... don't die!
The pottery merchant whistled and watched with satisfaction as the task of rewarding the troops in the village was completed. Then he waved to the village owners whose faces had turned as black as coals and said, "Let's go and eat!"
Entering the main village, the dishes have been laid out for a long time.
The potter was not polite at all, he ate and drank, and his creation was very sweet.
But the owners of the water thief village are just talking about nothing at the moment.
Before the pottery merchant came, these village owners had already discussed it, and everyone was willing to die together to ask the pottery merchant to fight against this incident of taking credit for them and help them solve the matter.
Otherwise, they would go out collectively and lead the water thieves under their command to break away from the jurisdiction of the pottery merchants.
Yes, use this trick to threaten him!
They had prepared a good plan, but as soon as the pottery merchant came to reward the army, their idea was completely wiped out.
During the reward ceremony just now, the water thieves in each village looked at the envy in the eyes of Zhou Tai's men, the desire in the pottery merchant's eyes, and the resentful eyes at their leaders...
Everything is no longer under the control of these leaders.
If you threaten the pottery merchant with the threat of going down to the field now, it may not have any effect at all. It will also anger him, and the gain will outweigh the loss.
And seeing how he was eating and drinking, smiling and not worried, the water thieves knew clearly that it was absolutely impossible to scare him.
For them now, I'm afraid there is only one way left.
The pottery merchant was concentrating on eating when he saw the leader of the water thieves running out from the table with a sad look on his face. He knelt on his knees and knocked his head heavily on the ground towards the pottery merchant.
.
This head knock was so loud that it made a heavy muffled sound, and the potter felt that the ground beneath his feet was shaking.
The pottery merchant stared at the Gushui thief Guan village leader with his mouth open, and he was greatly admired in his heart.
Good start!
"Master Fu! Save our lives!" the leader of Guan Village cried out.
The potter still slowly picked up the wild vegetables and stuffed them into his mouth without making a sound.
Seeing the leader of the Guan Village kneeling down and kowtowing to the pottery merchant without making a sound, the other village masters were also anxious. They ran down from their seats one after another, kowtowed to the pottery merchant, and shouted at the potter's feet.
The earthquakes come and go.
"Master Fu, save my life!"
"Master Fu, that guy Sheng Xian insists on intimidating us! It is really helpless for us to do this!"
"Sheng Xian went too far to bully others. We had no choice but to take this step!"
"Master Fu, we are doing all this for you!"
When Tao Shang saw that everyone was kowtowing, he put down his chopsticks and looked at them with a half-smile on his chin.
"Everyone, please get up. Tao is probably aware of what you are going through... Sigh, this is simply too unfortunate."
The water thieves were all crying and wiping away their tears, and each of them helped the other to stand up from the ground.
Before they could stabilize the battle, they heard the pottery merchant sigh helplessly: "But the problem is, lying about military achievements is a serious crime of confiscating one's family and beheading one's head. Among the three armies, this is the most taboo. Although I am your recommender,
But if we follow the laws of the Han Dynasty, I'm afraid I can't show favoritism. Besides, even if I show favoritism, if Sheng Xian reports the matter to the higher authorities and the court investigates it, I will be able to protect you."
Before the pottery merchant could finish speaking, the bandit leaders were seen kneeling on the ground again, kowtowing repeatedly, and the whole village was covered in dust.
"Master Fu, I was wronged!"
"Master Fu, we don't want to lie about our military exploits! In fact, Sheng Xian went too far. He set a time limit for us! He even forced us to issue a military order!"
"That's right! And just give us one month to eliminate the Shanyue Sect bandits in Wu County. Let alone destroy the bandits, even to find the bandits' lairs, this month is not enough!"
"Master Fu, when we were on the river in the past, we were just water bandits. We really don't know how to kill enemies in the mountains!"
"Master Fu, you, a big man, must be more reasonable and humane in your laws!"
The potter touched his chin, showing a troubled look.
"Personally, I have feelings for each of you, but military law does not allow mercy. This matter... is really difficult to handle."
Those water pirate leaders looked at me and I looked at you, and they both saw despair in each other's eyes.
At this time, the leader of Liu Village suddenly moved his knees, took two steps forward, and said: "Master Fu, do you think this will work... The general is no longer willing to lead the army, and he does not want to govern the county independently. As long as the government
You are willing to save the life of the general, the general... The general is willing to hand over the military power under his command, and I will join the Jinling Navy Army, even if I am just a pawn, as long as I don't die... keep this
I am destined to repay you for your great kindness!"
Village Leader Liu's words were like ringing a bell, ringing in the minds of all the thieves present, Kou Hun Jiangjiang.
Yes, what's the use of just kneeling down and crying and begging? If you don't show some sincerity, even if your knees are flattened and your eyes are blinded by crying, how can the pottery merchant help these people?
Some things in this world must be exchanged for conditions.
The leader of Guanzhai also said hurriedly: "The last general doesn't want to lead the troops anymore!"
"I don't want to be stationed in the county anymore!"
"The last general won't lead the troops anymore. I just ask the Lord to save us!"
"..."
Tao Shang scratched his head in embarrassment and said: "Isn't this... not good? You are all Tao's benefactors and helped Tao defeat Yuan Shu on the Yangtze River. If I take your military power now, what will happen?
Isn’t it just killing the donkey?”
The faces of the water pirate leaders looked very embarrassed.
It’s rare that Mr. Tao Fu still remembers this. He is indeed a gentleman...a good person!
When I was young, I saw the leader of Guan Village raising his hand in fear.
The pottery merchant said to the master of Guanzhai in an easy-going manner: "Have you got something to say, Captain Guan?"
"I, I'm not a donkey."
The water pirate leaders present nodded their heads.
"Oh, I'm sorry, this word is not used well... What Tao means is, if I take your military power now, wouldn't I be burning bridges across the river and being ungrateful? Tao is a gentleman, and he must not do something like this that makes the world laugh at him.
thing."
Having said this, Tao Shang paused and continued: "For the sake of Tao's reputation as a gentleman, why don't I bother everyone present and go die?"
The water pirate leaders shook their heads together.
"What Mr. Fu said is wrong! What do you mean by crossing the river and burning the bridge? It's obvious that I don't want military power anymore!"
"Yes, the general has been very lazy recently. He is getting old and can no longer lead the troops. I took the initiative to hand over the military power. What does it have to do with Mr. Fujun?"
"That's right, my eighty-year-old mother is bedridden with no one to take care of her. Loyalty and filial piety should come first. It's obvious that I want to hand over military power and go back to serve my mother!"
"Which bastard dares to say that the prince is not a gentleman? I will turn around and kill his whole family!"
Tao Shang sighed and said helplessly: "You guys are collectively forcing me to cheat and do those disloyal and unjust things...Are you still human?"