Wang Xiaowei was a man of both roughness and finesse. He looked at Shang Bo's face and said, "Shang Lu seems to be unfamiliar. He shouldn't be a native of Shazhou, right?"
Immediately afterwards, Lieutenant Wang held the hilt of the knife and shouted: "When did such a person appear in Shazhou City! Are you the lobbyist sent by King Jianning?"
Shang Bo just smiled and did not answer Wang Xiaowei's question.
Captain Wang's heart trembled, and he was even more confused about the depth of Shang Bo. He sat down and said:
"Your master only has a few hundred troops, how can he command our Doulu Army?"
Guazhou is not far from Shazhou, and Wang Xiaowei has found out clearly about King Jianning's family background. This is also the reason why the fifth Xiaowei dared to openly attack Yanchi. They expected that Li Yan would only suffer the loss of being dumb and would not have the strength to retaliate.
Shang Bo said: "Captain, I'm not here to persuade you to surrender."
"Then why did you come to my house?"
"For the lives of Captain Wang and his family."
"Be bold!"
Shang Bo was unmoved and continued: "Wang Xiaowei, let me ask you, have you exhausted all the Qi of the Tang Dynasty?"
Captain Wang thought for a while and shook his head.
The war in Guanzhong is fierce, but the new emperor has received support from various military governors and has now set up his army in Fengxiang Mansion, which is very close to Xijing.
After the Hebei rebels captured the two capitals and An Lushan ascended the throne as Emperor of Dayan, he began to become unwilling to make progress and was unable to continue to expand.
News of An Lushan's death has not reached Longyou, but anyone who knows military strategy knows that the momentum of the Hebei rebels has been exhausted.
Although Colonel Wang was a small lieutenant in Longyou Road, he could also see that the Tang Dynasty was not exhausted and it was only a matter of time before the new emperor regained control of the two capitals.
Shang Bo continued: "The Tang Dynasty is still full of energy. If you openly rebel and attack King Jianning's army, isn't it a capital crime?"
Lieutenant Wang did not speak, but Shang Bo continued: "I know what you are thinking. You think Shazhou is remote and are planning to use border troubles to control the imperial court."
"But Captain Wang, if you do this, what good will it do to your family?"
Colonel Wang was stunned for a moment.
During these days, Shang Bo chatted with the old officials of the governor's office every day, and found out all about the discord among the five lieutenants.
He cleared his throat and said: "The Yanchi Salt Farm has always been managed by Xiaowei Sha's cronies. The salt produced in the salt farm is managed by Xiaowei Kang's family. How much benefit did your Wang family get from it?"
Captain Wang was stunned for a moment, as if he thought about it carefully, since the Yanchi Salt Farm produces so much salt, the money that Captain Wang gets every time is not much.
The seeds of suspicion had been planted long ago. The Yanchi salt farm was a big deal, but Sha Kang and his two men tightly controlled the salt farm. On weekdays, Wang Xiaowei and others could not see the account books and had no idea about the salt farm's operations.
It was said that all the profits after taking over the salt farm were divided equally, but every time the accounts were divided, Sha Kang and his wife took out a few receipts, but divided the money according to the figures they said.
This amount of money is not too much. When Shang Bo said this, Wang Xiaowei was even more shaken.
Only Sha Xiaowei and Kang Xiaowei were the most active in retaking the salt farm. Did they really embezzle the profits from the salt farm?
Shang Bo said: "Wang Xiaowei, if you want to threaten the border with the imperial court, you must first have soldiers, right? If you don't have soldiers under your command, how can you bargain with the imperial court?"
"Deploy your elite men to help Lieutenant Sha seize the salt field. If this battle is won, King Jianning will hate your fifth lieutenant. If Sha Kang and his two men recapture the salt field, you still have to share the money with them."
Then Shangbo took out a handwritten account book and said, "This is the account book we found from the salt field after we occupied it."
Captain Wang picked up the account book and felt angry when he saw the numbers on the account book.
The figures on the account books were far greater than the figures provided by Sha Kang and the others. As expected, these two guys hid the income from the salt farm!
Looking at Shang Bo's face, Lieutenant Wang secretly thought: "No, we can't fall into this guy's conspiracy. This account book is newly copied and must be a forgery!"
Shang Bo continued: "I know, Lieutenant Wang, you don't believe this account book, so let me put it more bluntly. If you send troops to help Lieutenant Sha retake the salt field, how much benefit will your Wang family get?"
"It's okay if you win, but if you lose, didn't you lose your soldiers in vain?"
"Colonel Sha personally led the troops into battle. As a commander, does he cherish his own soldiers, or does he cherish your soldiers more?"
After saying this, Colonel Wang's expression finally changed drastically.
During the attack on Yanchi, Colonel Sha personally led the troops, Colonel Kang was responsible for transporting military supplies and guarding the formation at the rear, while Colonel Wang, Wushi and others were stationed in Shazhou City.
The 200 people Colonel Wang handed over to Colonel Sha were all his trusted subordinates, and they were all elite soldiers who were fed with fine food every day.
There are 1,000 people in Wang Xiaowei's camp. These 200 people are the backbone of his army and the ones who obey his orders the most.
If these people were killed, Captain Wang would not even be able to control all the soldiers under his command.
Shang Bo's words were like a seed of suspicion, making Captain Wang feel uneasy.
What if Lieutenant Sha lets his cronies lead the way and die? What if he seizes the salt pond and his troops suffer heavy casualties? Isn’t that making a wedding dress for others?
The monthly payment from the salt farm is not too much. Is it worth falling out with the imperial court, King Jianning and Governor Jia for a mere salt farm?
The more he thought this way, the more Captain Wang became shaken.
Shang Bo didn't say anything. After Wang Xiaowei thought for a long time, he drew out his sword and said, "Sow discord!"
Shang Bo's expression remained unchanged and he said, "If I had provoked dissension, Colonel Wang would have chopped me with a knife just now."
Wang Xiaowei said bitterly to Shang Bo: "Please Shang Lushi stay in our army for a few days! Someone is coming!"
Two soldiers rushed in, and Lieutenant Wang said: "Please Shang Lushi stay in the camp and serve you with good food and drink!"
"promise!"
Two soldiers escorted Shang Bo down, and Wang Xiaowei called his son again.
Wang Xiaowei's son served as a brigade commander in the army and was also the leader of Wang Xiaowei's personal soldiers.
Seeing his son coming in, Captain Wang said, "Has the army on Captain Sha's side set off?"
"Father, the army is still gathering and will not be able to leave until tomorrow."
"That's good, you can report to Captain Sha now."
Captain Wang's son looked at his father in confusion. Captain Wang continued: "Remember, you have only one mission in this battle, which is to protect our soldiers as much as possible. No matter you win or lose, you have to fight."
Bring these two hundred elites back to me! Do you understand?"
"clear!"
"In addition, you go and invite Colonel Wu and Colonel Shi to come over. I have important matters to discuss with them."
Watching his son go out to fight, Lieutenant Wang sat on the bench and let out a long sigh.
That businessman was right, the most important thing is to protect yourself in troubled times.
Imprisoning Shang Bo would leave a line to reach King Jianning in case of defeat.
At the foot of Sanwei Mountain, beside the official road.
The players acted quickly and reached Sanwei Mountain Pass before dark.
Yuchixin ordered to camp near Sanwei Mountain Pass, build a simple camp, and wait until dawn the next day before surveying the terrain.
In the Doulu Army barracks, Lieutenant Sha took oaths and paid rewards. Finally, he gathered a team of a thousand people and could set off tomorrow.