Chapter 145: Don't Talk About Money With the Protector
Li Siye was fully prepared, and carrying a bundle of quilts, he arrived outside the main courtyard of the Duhu Mansion. The two guards standing guard at the door saw that it was him again, looked inside, and hurriedly raised their hands and said
: "Li Shijun, please leave quickly. It's not that we won't let you in. The brigade leader will keep a close eye on him."
Li Siye put his hands into his sleeves and said slowly: "You don't need to embarrass me this time. The Protector will personally send someone to invite me in."
The two soldiers laughed mockingly, taking his words as bragging.
Lu Qian appeared at the door wearing a leather hat with ear protection. He crossed his arms and said coldly: "Are you still waiting here? I advise you to go back to your Congling. Even if you freeze yourself into an icicle, don't do it."
I want to see you, the Protector."
Li Siye laughed and counterattacked: "You think you, a brat like you, can block my way?"
"What do you think?" Lu Lvsui stood at the door with a shy belly: "I will stand here today to see who dares to let you in!"
"Li, don't think about being able to climb back onto the Protector's lap. Just stay in that little place on Congling for the rest of your life!"
Li Siye suddenly smiled: "Lu Lvli, what do you mean? Could it be that when the officer on duty in the Duhu Mansion comes to call me, you can stop him?"
Lu Qian laughed and said, "They're just a few petty officials! They're just foreign officials. I, Lu Qian, really don't take them seriously. Even if you want to ask them for help, you can't get past me."
The officer on duty stood quietly a few steps away, hearing Lu Qian's words clearly. A gloomy look flashed across his face, and then he squeezed out a smile and slowly walked forward.
"The Protector has an order for Li Siye to go in and see him." He raised his head expressionlessly and looked at Li Siye speaking, without even glancing at Lu Qian out of the corner of his eye.
Lu Qian was stunned, his body still blocking the door, so stiff that he didn't know whether to retreat or not.
The officer on duty said to him without mercy: "This is an order from the Governor, Lu Lv. I am a small official who speaks softly and is useless. If you don't believe it, go in and ask the Governor yourself."
If you believe me, don't block the door."
Lu Qian stepped aside in embarrassment. He originally wanted to explain to the official on duty, but what he said was like throwing water away... Li Siye, a treacherous villain, deliberately led himself to say the wrong thing. It was really abominable.
The officials solemnly raised their hands to Li Siye and said, "Li Shou has captured the envoy, please."
"It's time to work."
Li Siye returned the salute, took the initiative to step back half a body, and followed the official on his left towards the lobby of the Protectorate. The junior official was slightly startled, and felt a little comfortable. They were also seventh-rank officials, and the behavior of the Congling guard was as good as the envoy.
He is very humble, unlike that kid Lu Qian, who leads a mere brigade of soldiers, but appears to be more arrogant than a general.
The officer on duty and Li Siye came to the steps of the main hall. As soon as they walked around the screen, they suddenly stopped, winked at Li Siye and said, "Let's wait here."
Li Siye didn't understand what he meant and couldn't ask, so he had to wait patiently. The official smiled at Li Siye, looked up at the brackets and beams on the top of the hall, but listened to the hourglass in the center of the hall, with his fingers on the back of his left hand.
He was tapping gently on it, as if silently counting the time.
When Li Siye was about to lose his patience, the official suddenly recovered from the state of concentrating with his eyes closed, and said calmly: "Let's go."
They came outside the compartment of Laiyao's study, stretched out their hands and tapped twice on the door wall.
"Come in!"
The clerk bowed and entered the door, crossing his hands and saying, "Protector, Congling guard Li Siye has been brought here."
Lai Yao suppressed his anger and asked loudly: "I just asked you to call someone, why do you go to such trouble!"
The clerk once again bowed and crossed his hands, and said lightly: "The Guard Brigade refused to let us go, so we wasted time."
Li Siye suddenly realized that he had such a skill in persecuting people. The clerk was also a master at this. He made a few sentences lightly and refused to say a word more. This cunning accusation was not harsh at all.
Lai Yao slapped the desk hard and asked, "Which brigade commander is on duty today?"
The clerk continued to poke the knife in an understatement: "It seems to be Lu Qianlu. He seems to be in a bad mood today."
When Xiao Ting heard this, he wished he could run out right now and give his two cousins a slap in the face for their successes but failure. It's enough for you to offend Li Siye, but how can you offend the people around you? Are you so stupid?
?
Lai Yao waved his hand angrily: "Okay, go out and ask Li Siye to come in."
Xiao Ting was extremely depressed. Although Yao Duhu didn't care about it now, he would never forget things. It left a bad impression on him. Do you still want to be promoted in the future? It would be nice if I didn't kick you out.
Got it!
Li Siye came in with a quilt in his arms, bowed and crossed his hands and said: "Li Siye, who is of humble rank, please come and protect me."
Lai Yao was straightforward and did not mince words with him. He asked directly: "How many of these quilts do you have now? Where did you get so much cotton cloth? Can this cotton be sewn into the middle of clothes and made into winter clothes?"
"
Li Siye was not impatient and answered the first question: "Qi Duhu, we made more than 2,000 sets of these quilts in one month. The cotton was obtained from more than 500 acres of wasteland in Congling this spring.
After planting and harvesting cotton in autumn, I mobilized all the military households in Congling to process the cotton and ordered the ladies to sew it into quilts. The winter clothes you mentioned are called cotton-padded jackets, and we have made more than a thousand of them."
"Very good!" Lai Yao waved his hand and patted the table, and said with a smile: "What is missing is really what you need? Li Siye, why did you think of growing cotton? Thinking of making quilts, how could you predict it beforehand?"
"It's not that the low-level job is unpredictable, it's just that the green hills are bitterly cold and the soldiers are short of supplies, so I mobilized everyone to plant cotton and make winter clothes, which can improve their lives to some extent."
Lai Yao didn't seem to understand the meaning of Li Siye's last sentence. He stood up with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Go back now and bring all the quilts and jackets made. No, I will specially prepare a baggage group for you.
I’ll take the camel carriage and go back with you to pull it.”
"I humbly obey my command." Li Siye crossed his hands but did not move his body.
"Okay, you can go down now. General Gao Xianzhi will assign the baggage regiment to you."
Li Siye couldn't calm down for a moment. The Protector didn't mention money at all. Do you think this quilt was given for free? Even if I support the four towns of Anxi and the Tang Dynasty, you can't let me take care of everything.
The principal will be discounted.
When Lai Yao saw that Li Siye only responded but refused to leave, he leaned out with his legs crossed and asked, "Do you have anything else important to do? Or do you have any difficulties?"
Regardless of whether the other party forgot on purpose or simply didn't know that there was such a thing as payment, Li Siye had to bring it up, otherwise he would lose Dafa.
"It's not that difficult. It's just that my family of more than 500 people in Congling, selling iron, suffered from cold and hunger, spent several years of savings and old capital, and planted these 500 acres of cotton fields.
. He also forgot about food and sleep and didn’t know how to work day and night to make quilts and cotton-padded jackets. Many people fell ill because of this, but they couldn’t even afford to sell medicinal materials. Please protect me and be considerate."
Xiao Ting's eyes widened in surprise. Could he be asking the Protector...
Gao Xianzhi raised his eyebrows, put down his tea bowl and looked directly at Li Siye with interest. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the boldest guard he had ever seen.
"Don't worry about this." Lai Duhu waved his big hand and said proudly:
"After you go down, order all the military households in the Congling Guard to work overtime to make cotton-padded clothes and quilts. Once the severe cold and warmth of Anxi soldiers this winter are solved, I will make the decision here and give each of you Congling Guards a reward.
!"
Li Siye thought gloomily, I want more than just a reward.