"Why, brother doesn't recognize me anymore?" Liu Changning said with a smile.
Li Chengshi smiled bitterly, waved his hand and said, "Long time no see. Brother Liu, please take a seat!"
Liu Changning sat down and asked, "The Governor is still not in the military camp?"
Li Chengshi shook his head, "He is basically not in the military camp, but in Yangzhou City. He rarely comes to the military camp once a year."
At this time, a soldier came in to serve tea, and Liu Changning asked: "Why do you feel that there are so few people in the military camp?"
"Forget it, there were originally 30,000 troops, but now there are only 16,000 left."
Liu Changning was startled, "Why?"
"It's not that damn big money. We haven't been paid for several months. Everyone was waiting for money to support their families. But the big money was handed out. One dollar is equivalent to ten cents. The market didn't recognize it at all. The whole military camp was boiling. That day
More than 5,000 people fled at night, and by the time the court exchanged money, almost 10,000 people had fled. In addition, due to frequent salary arrears, the morale of the army was weakened, so now there are only 16,000 left, and almost half of them have escaped."
Liu Changning nodded, "I understand, but the imperial court didn't know and still issued a salary of 30,000 yuan. The salary of more than 10,000 people was embezzled by Huangfu Qian, so my brother wrote to the court to accuse Huangfu Qian."
Li Chengshi sighed, "You got the cause right, but you didn't get the result right. The imperial court knew it. Both Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen knew that there were only 16,000 people left, but they didn't report it to the emperor.
Colluded with Huangfu Qian, embezzled the salary of 14,000 people every month, and then divided it privately.
Of the portion Huangfu Qian received, he would also give another 30,000 yuan each year to Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen. I only found out about this later. I didn’t know it when I wrote the letter of complaint until the letter of complaint fell into Huangfu Qian’s hands.
, I realized something was wrong.”
"What a bastard!"
Liu Changning cursed fiercely, "When the eunuchs are in power, the roots of this dynasty are rotten."
"Hey! Instead of talking about these spoiling things, it's rare for us to meet and have a drink!"
Li Chengshi got up and went out of the tent, asking his soldiers to bring wine and food. He came back with a bottle of wine and said with a smile, "I happen to have a bottle of Jiannan Shaochun, let's drink it today!"
"Didn't eldest brother give up drinking?"
Li Chengshi filled a glass of wine for him and sighed: "I have been in a bad mood for the past two years and broke the law again. Oh! Forget it. Why should we have a drink? How about we meet again after a long separation?"
Liu Changning smiled slightly and said: "I am about to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Quanzhou Navy, so consider it as my fulfillment!"
Li Chengshi was surprised and said: "Quanzhou also belongs to the King of Qi?"
Liu Changning nodded, "The King of Qi led the army to recover the four states of Xiangwei. Quanzhou and Donghai Island are the conditions for sending troops."
Li Chengshi smiled bitterly and shook his head. He still had to rely on other people's troops to defeat the feudal town. This court
"Okay! Practice it for you, I wish you a safe journey."
The two of them drank the wine in one gulp. Liu Changning grabbed the jug and poured the wine, while saying: "This time I came to Yangzhou, there is actually one more thing that has to do with my brother!"
"Are you also here to be a lobbyist?" Li Chengshi said calmly.
Liu Changning took out two letters and handed them to him, "I'll send you two letters!"
Li Chengshi took the letter and his eyes widened. The first letter was actually written by his old boss Dugu Jing. He read the second letter and he couldn't sit still.
"General Tiance of the Tang Dynasty, General Li Chengshi, the commander of the Yangzhou navy, was sent by King Li Ye of Qi."
It turned out to be a handwritten letter from the King of Qi.
"Is His Highness Prince Qi trying to recruit me?"
Liu Changning nodded slowly, "I won't persuade you. I just want to say something from the bottom of my heart to my brother. The King of Qi represents the ZTE of the Tang Dynasty. Is my brother willing to serve the ZTE of the Tang Dynasty or continue to serve the eunuchs? Two years ago, I
I made my choice, and it turns out that my choice was completely correct. Now it’s my brother’s turn. With my brother’s conditions, he will definitely go further and higher than me.”
After Liu Changning finished speaking, he drained the cup and said, "I'll leave you an address. I'll be in Yangzhou these two days. Come find me when you figure it out!"
He left his address and turned around to leave. Liu Changning was a very knowledgeable person, and he knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, it would not be as effective as a personal letter from King Qi.
Li Chengshi sat blankly in the tent. Li Xilie did not write him a personal letter, but His Highness King Qi actually wrote him a personal letter. This kind of attention and respect for himself made Li Chengshi full of inexplicable excitement.
move,
At the same time that Li Chengshi and Liu Changning were drinking and reminiscing about old times, an uninvited guest also came to Huangfu Qian's mansion.
The person who came was none other than the Taoist priest Zhang Luanzi. He wrote a note, 'Sixteen thousand people are divided into thirty thousand soldiers' salary. What a generous gesture from the governor!'
Huangfu Qian was so frightened that he quickly invited Zhang Luanzi to his outer study.
Huangfu Qian stared into Zhang Luanzi's eyes, gritted his teeth and said, "You are so brave, you dare to threaten me. Aren't you afraid that I will push you out of the way and kill you with a knife?"
Zhang Luanzi squinted his eyes and smiled: "If I were afraid, I would not appear in front of you. If you dare to kill me, the emperor will not take care of you. The king of Huaixi County will kill you and your family within three days."
Hanging on the beam, besides, I just want to make a deal with the Governor, why are you so angry?"
Huang Fuqian's expression changed slightly. He knew that Li Xilie was so ruthless that even the emperor's eldest grandson would dare to assassinate him, let alone himself.
Taking advantage of the steps offered by the other party, he softened his tone and said, "Tell me, what's the deal?"
"It's very simple. The prince wants half of the navy's warships."
"What a big tone, I want half of the warships with my mouth open!"
Huangfu Qian sneered: "What about me? What can I get?"
"You can get three things. First, your secret will continue to be protected. If the court sends someone to investigate, the prince will kill the investigators with one knife.
Second, the prince will pay you 300,000 yuan."
Huangfu Qian couldn't help but interrupt the other party, "I want to know, what will happen if I don't agree?"
Zhang Luanzi said calmly: "We will put the fact that you embezzled the military salary in front of the prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall, and then the prince will help Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen pass, and you will bear all the blame."
Huangfu Qian's momentum suddenly softened, and he asked after a while: "What's the third point?"
"This is evidence of Li Chengshi's crime. You can impeach him to the court, saying that he secretly colluded with Li Xilie."
Huangfu Qian's eyes lit up, "Is there any evidence?"
Zhang Luanzi nodded, "I can give you a letter written by Li Xilie to Li Chengshi. Of course, the prince did not write to him, and he is not qualified to ask the prince to write to him, but it can be concocted as evidence.
Then, Li Chengshi secretly met with me twice. I can write a statement and give it to you, and the restaurant owner can also prove that we met. How about that? Isn’t that enough?"
At this moment, the evidence that Li Chengshi's navy soldiers secretly communicated with the pirates was no longer important. Collusion with Li Xiyeol was the major crime.
Huangfu Qian pondered for a long time and finally nodded slowly, "Let's make a deal!"