There are not many soldiers in the capital department, but Xu Sikui, the current captain, has many family members and servants. Even if they rent out such a large inn, they can't accommodate them. It is said that the innkeeper said that there are dozens of them renting outside.

Wang Qianli, who had tried to rip off two salt transport envoys to the Huaihe River and one Yangzhou magistrate, saw that the inn was filled with boxes and cages that had not yet been gathered up. He looked at the maids and miscellaneous people of the Xu family who were busy coming in and out.

Servant, a casual smile immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Xu Sikui's friend secretly glanced at Chen Hu and others who were looking fiercely, and said cautiously: "Mr. Wang, please come this way."

"Oh, lead the way." Wang Qianli nodded slightly and followed his friend into the backyard.

Xu Sikui didn't expect that his new Nan'an colleague would send someone to chase him. He didn't dare to avoid seeing him, so he pretended to be calm and sat in the main hall of the backyard drinking tea. While he was thinking about how to pass this test, Wang Qianli walked into the main hall and cupped his fists and said: "

Wang Qianli, the seventh grade candidate for the county magistrate who was given the title of late emperor, pays homage to Xu Dusi!"

As soon as Wang Qianli arrived at the inn, he asked the Xu family to hand in Han Xiufeng's famous post and official documents from the Heting Yamen. Xu Sikui originally thought that Wang Qianli was just a messenger sent by the new Nan'an Tongzhi to deliver a message. Unexpectedly, Wang Qianli was not only wearing a

Even the headband was given by the emperor. With the help of his family, he quickly stood up and returned the greeting: "Brother Wang, there is no need to be polite. Sit down. Please sit down."

Before Wang Qianli came, he only knew that Xu Sikui had been the governor for more than ten years, but he didn't expect that Xu Sikui was actually an old man with wrinkles all over his forehead, few teeth missing, and he couldn't even stand still. He was stunned for a moment.

Lived.

"Xiao Liuzi, hurry up and serve tea to Mr. Wang!"

"Oh, little one, let's go right here."

Wang Qianli calmed down and immediately raised his hands and said: "Xu Dusi, I am late in life and have official duties, so I don't dare to delay."

Although Xu Sikui was old, he was not confused. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Brother Wang, I dare to ask, why did Master Han order you to summon me?"

"Please Xu Dusi, please come to the Heting Hall to discuss military affairs."

"Brother Wang is really good at joking. I told you about my illness this morning, and the Ministry of War has already approved it. It is said that even the official documents of the Ministry of War of the new governor have arrived at the Taoist Office. Now that I am without an official, I am very young. What kind of military affairs can Mr. Han consult with me?

"

"The official document has arrived, but the person has not arrived. Xu Dusi, if the new Dusi has not arrived for a day, Heying will not be able to do without you for a day!"

"But……"

"Xu Dusi, don't worry, not only Master Han is waiting for you, but Master Wu is also waiting for you."

"Master Wu is also waiting for me?" Xu Sikui was shocked.

"How dare I lie to you about such a big thing?" Wang Qianli asked back, and then his face straightened: "Xu Dusi, I believe you have heard about it for a long time. Mr. Han came to Gu'an to train troops under the order. The emperor gave him a military letter before leaving the capital.

There are dozens of volumes, most of which were used by the emperor when he was the prince! Although there is no title of imperial envoy, he is no different from the imperial envoy. If you keep arriving late and delaying military affairs, Mr. Han will definitely not be happy."

"Brother Wang, I'm old, I'm old..."

"Chen Hu and Zhang Qingyu listened to the order and served Xu Dusi to move to the Heting Yamen!"

"Got the order!"

Following Wang Qianli's order, Chen Hu and others rushed into the main hall, held up Xu Sikui and were about to go out. Xu Sikui was so frightened that he struggled and shouted: "Brother Wang, I'm going, I'm going, can't I go?"

"

Wang Qianli secretly cursed you to rely on your old age and act like your old age. He walked into the yard with his hands behind his back, looked around at the Xu family who had gathered around him and said: "When the Heting Yamen is doing errands, all soldiers and civilians will stay away! Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be taken to the Yamen and punished!"

"Master, master..."

Seeing Tian Gui and other military attachés raising their foreign guns, Xu Sikui realized that Wang Qianli had come prepared and did not dare to struggle anymore. He hurriedly said: "It's okay, it's okay. Let's all disperse. I'll be back soon, sir."

"Did you hear that? Your master said it's all right. If there are horses, hurry up and prepare the horses. If there are no horses, hurry up and prepare the sedan. Otherwise, your master will have to walk."

"Oh, Mr. Wang, please wait a moment. I'll prepare the horse right now."

…

When Xu Sikui was "invited" to the Heting Yamen by Wang Qianli like a prisoner, Wu Tingdong had already arrived at the Heting Yamen and was sitting in the lobby drinking tea and talking to Han Xiufeng and Shi Zanqing, who were sitting on both sides.

Before, he directly thought that Han Si should have climbed into Duan Dazhang's high position when he was the head of the Chongqing Guild Hall in the capital. With the support of Duan Dazhang, Huang Zhongyin and other Chongqing fellow villagers, as well as Guo Peilin and other Duan Dazhang and Huang Zhongyin in the same year, he planned to become the leader of the Chongqing Association.

I went to the Nan'an Department to know that this was missing. It wasn't until I walked out of the road office and saw General Qian and the military attache that Han Si had brought from Shanghai that he really realized that Han Si had led troops and fought in battles, including the great victory at Wanfu Bridge.

It's not blown out either.

Just as he was asking with great interest how the Qianxiang warriors guarding the Wanfu Bridge were trained, Han Xiufeng just mentioned Wang Qianli intentionally or unintentionally, and Wang Qianli ran in to report the arrival of Xu Sikui, the commander of the river camp.

Wu Tingdong was born as a tribute and had no prejudice against Wang Qianli, who was born as a prison student. What's more, he just learned from Han Xiufeng that Wang Qianli also fought against Changmao. He felt that Wang Qianli was a talent from the bottom of his heart and couldn't help laughing: "Yes.

please!"

"As commanded."

Wang Qianli bowed, then turned around and walked out of the lobby to invite Xu Sikui who was waiting outside.

Although Xu Sikui was of the fourth rank, in Wu Tingdong's eyes he was not as good as a magistrate of the seventh rank. After he bowed respectfully, he pointed to the chair that Datou had just brought over and asked Xu Sikui to sit down and talk.

Xu Sikui glanced at Han Xiufeng, who was sitting opposite, and said uneasily: "Master Wu, the Ministry of War has given permission for Bei Zhi to report his illness. Bei Zhi will wait for the arrival of the new Du Si, complete the handover with the new Du Si, and then leave for his hometown...

"

"Xu Dusi, I have heard about your illness, but the plan has changed." Wu Tingdong picked up a Beijing newspaper and read the Beijing report: "The war in Jinghai is in full swing, and the emperor has just issued an edict. We who are watching

All ministers are worried."

"What did the emperor say?" Xu Sikui asked cautiously.

"I'm going to read this to you. Your Majesty said that the rebel bandits were lurking in Shucheng and other villages. After the passing of the month, he issued strict orders repeatedly, ordering the minister to attack quickly and carry out a brutal attack. However, there was no report for several days.

My heart is really worried! The villages in Shucheng are small and have little harvest. And

I heard that the wooden fortress built by the bandits was half-supported by branches, so it would not be very strong. If you take advantage of this opportunity to attack, you can easily annihilate it. If you only try your best to resist when the bandits attack the camp, and then sit back and watch after they escape back to the bandit's nest,

If you don’t advance, the teacher’s salary will be too much, and it will be useless for a long time. When will you be able to overcome the problem?”

Wu Tingdong paused, and then read in a measured tone: "Now a large number of soldiers are gathering to surround this poor bandit. If they don't advance together as soon as possible, they will harass other places. Moreover, it is already mid-February, and the spring is melting.

It is difficult for the cavalry to move, and it is even more difficult to suppress the enemy. The ministers and others must strictly command the troops and motivate the soldiers.

Work together and work hard to attack the den of thieves and get rid of the ugly ones quickly. If any of the generals disobey orders, or if a battalion is sent out and other battalions do not come to the rescue, they will be punished according to military law to suppress the troops! If the monk Gelinqin

Wait, everyone has their own opinions. We cannot join forces to attack and delay the time. I am only engaged in law enforcement and will never be lenient!"

Although Xu Sikui didn't know a few words, he could still understand a general idea. He thought that the emperor was really anxious and didn't know what to say. Wu Tingdong put down the Beijing News and flipped through a pile of official documents at hand: "Xu Dusi

, these official documents should be familiar to you. This one is the Ministry of War's order on the sixth day of September last year to deploy 200 soldiers from Heying.

The troops rushing to aid Henan were ordered by the President of Taiwan on October 21 last year to dispatch 300 troops from Heying to rush to Cangzhou. This was ordered by the Ministry of War on November 29 last year to dispatch 100 troops from Heying to rush to aid Henan.

In the meantime, this portion was ordered by Master Taiwan to dispatch 400 troops from Heying on the 16th day of the first lunar month of this year to aid Jinghai..."

The Ministry of War and the Taitai Yamen ordered the river camp to send troops more than once. Xu Sikui either used the excuse that the troops were on the river work, or used the excuse of lack of food and pay as an excuse to hold back the troops. To be precise, it was not that the troops were holding back, but that there were no troops to send.

Seeing Wu Tingdong staring at him with murderous eyes, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and said hesitantly: "Master Wu, even if you lend a few courages to me, I don't dare to disobey my order, but I have my own difficulties."

."

Wu Tingdong asked: "What are your difficulties?"

"Master Wu, as the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and fodder must go first. But today, Zhili Fansi and Liangdao have owed me Heying food for more than four months. Even if the arrears of money and food cannot be paid for a while, they still have to pay.

Please give me money for expedition luggage, money for salt and vegetables, and money for expedition rations, but the superior official only asked me to send troops, but I didn’t even give me money to go to the army. How can I ask me to send troops if I don’t have money and food?”

"Xu Dusi, we didn't have it before, but now we have it." Han Xiufeng cupped his hands towards Wu Tingdong, who was sitting at the top, and said with a smile: "Master Wu is different from the previous Hedao officials. He has never regarded Heying as an outsider. Although General Lingxun

We need money everywhere, but we still managed to get 5,000 taels for Heying. You and I know how many soldiers there are in Heying, and I think these 5,000 taels are enough to set out."

"Departure?"

"It's just an expedition."

"Go to Jinghai to quell the chaos?"

"What do you think we are discussing?" Wu Tingdong took over the conversation, stared at him closely and said in an unquestionable tone: "Xu Sikui, if you continue to disobey orders and disrespect in Heying, let alone you can't bear it, even I can't do anything about it.

Talk to the emperor!"

"But I've already been sick. Mr. Wu, I've been serving in the army for decades. I beg you, for the sake of my old age, to wait a few more days until the new commander arrives... before rushing to Jinghai's aid."

"Soldiers are so valuable and so quick. Is this something we can wait for? Besides, the dispatch of troops has been delayed for a long time. Do you think it can be delayed any longer?"

"Master Wu..."

"It's useless to talk more. Send your family back home quickly to make preparations. When all the brave soldiers from each battalion arrive, we will go out to fight. I will personally practice it for you. I wish you success immediately!"

Xu Sikui never expected that Wu Tingdong, who was busy regulating the river a few days ago, could be so vicious. When he thought about how he would be tortured to death even if he did not die in the hands of Changmao at such an old age, he immediately fell to his knees with a thud.

, the old man began to plead with tears.

He is definitely not able to fight at this age. Wu Tingdong has never thought of letting him go into battle. He only wants his money. But he has never done such a thing as extortion, and the words come to his lips but he can't say them out.

Shi Zanqing was not only ashamed to speak out, but also felt that blackmailing an old man in his sixties was a dishonorable thing after all. No matter how Wu Tingdong winked, he pretended not to notice and remained motionless.

Han Xiufeng didn't care about so much, but felt that the longer he worked as an official, the richer he would become, and the more old guys like Xu Sikui would be able to take advantage of him, so he said lightly: "Xu Dusi, actually I have one more thing to do when I invite you here today."

"What's going on, Mr. Han, please clarify."

"Someone accuses you of falsely claiming the name of a soldier and filling your own pockets. He claims that there are soldiers on the roll of the He camp, but no soldiers in the army; there is pay on paper, but no pay in the army! I think you have served the imperial court for so many years, even if you have no merit, you still have it.

After hard work, I don’t want you to lose your security in the evening, so I am asking Lord Wu to give you a chance to lead troops to help Jinghai, and you will be punished."

"It's unjust, it's unjust for my humble position!"

"Whether you are wronged or not, you know very well in your heart! Now there are only two ways, either lead the troops to Jinghai and take the punishment, or return the military pay that has been withheld over the years, and the money and food that have been embezzled!"

Xu Sikui wanted both life and money, and he immediately became anxious: "Han, I, Mr. Xu, have no grievances against you, why don't you just kill them all?"

"You have no enmity with me, but I hate evil! The court is in troubled times, and I have been deeply favored by the emperor, so I should serve the emperor. Anyone who dares to covet the emperor's money, eat empty pay, and drink the blood of soldiers will be punished.

My enemy!" There is still a group of guards outside, and Xie

In charge of the defense, Mr. Qian, is waiting to take advantage of the boss's rip-off. Han Xiufeng didn't bother to talk to him anymore. He stared at him and said: "Let your family bring five thousand taels before the sun sets. I will ensure that you are fine. If
Chapter completed!