The Hejian County Chief thought it made sense.
(2)
But he was only a county chief in name only. How could he have so many soldiers to catch the bandits?
Just taking care of the guards in the County Governor Manor who were just there to keep up appearances was already a stretch for him.
He sighed and said shamefully, "Brother Liu, you don't know. Even though I have the title of a county chief, I can't be compared to you. Without any real power in their hands, they had neither food nor manpower. How could they eliminate the bandits around them? How can I let the people live and work in peace? I have the heart but I can't do anything to those bandits. If there were people with food, why would they let the bandits grow and disturb the people? "
He also had great ambitions. He wanted to be a good county chief and work for the people.
However, there were too many powerful Buddhas in Hejian County. As a powerless county chief, he could only be an obedient mute and retire peacefully. In the past, he had tried to gather people to suppress the bandits, but at that time, the bandits had already become very powerful and could not be mobilized.
Liu She sighed helplessly. He seemed to sympathize with his old classmate.
After a while, Liu She hesitated and said, "You and I have known each other for a long time and we are classmates. I can't just watch you being attacked by the Meng's and ignore it. The only way out is to catch the bandits who killed Meng Langjun. If you lack manpower, why don't you borrow some people from other families in the name of suppressing the bandits for the people? It's fine if no one gives you some food … "
The County Chief of Hejian County looked embarrassed. This solution could solve the urgent situation, but he would lose face. The "families" that Liu She mentioned were the other gentry families in Hejian County. The County Chief felt like he was begging for money.
Seeing the County Chief hesitate, Liu She said righteously, "My family doesn't have many resources. Even though we have some property, we are only the second branch. We can't take over the family, so there's a limit to what we can do … If you don't mind, I'm willing to give you a hundred servants to help you suppress the bandits …"
The gentry families were big and had many servants. But the number of servants to guard the house was fixed and the number was fixed.
After all, it didn't take too many people to look after the house. If there were too many, it would be equivalent to raising another mouth to eat without doing anything.
Under normal circumstances, if the Hejian County Chief went out to borrow people from other families, he wouldn't be able to borrow many.
Of course, the wealthy families that secretly raised private armies were an exception.
A hundred people was a huge number and a generous one. How could the Hejian County Chief not be shocked?
Even the previous few times when they were suppressing the bandits, they only mobilized one or two hundred soldiers.
The County Chief of Hejian County calmed down and relaxed his frown. If it weren't for the inappropriate situation, he would have laughed out loud.
"Brother, you've really helped me a lot! Regardless of whether we can catch those thieves or not, I will owe you a big favor! "
Liu She also broke into a smile and said a few words humbly. He looked like he was doing it for the sake of brotherhood.
The Hejian County Chief naturally had to return the favor after receiving such a big favor.
The one hundred people were like one hundred mouths. The Liu's had already sent people, they couldn't ask them to give back food.
Therefore, he decided to pay a visit to the other landowning households later and ask them if they could give him some food or not … After all, to these landowning households, people were more valuable than food. Anything that could be solved with food was nothing.
Training servants required energy, money, and material resources. If the people they lent out were lost, they would suffer a great loss.
In comparison, it was more cost-effective to send people off with a batch of food.
With Liu She taking the lead, the other families couldn't be too stingy. They would more or less give some food.
Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was worth it if they could get through this crisis.
The Hejian County Chief felt better when he thought about it.
After Jiang Pengji finished dealing with the follow-up matters, she received a message from the gatekeeper asking her to see Liu She.
"Father, what can I do for you?"
Jiang Pengji was a bit confused. Liu She wouldn't scold her because of what happened last night, would he?
"Father has found a few free suckers for you."
Jiang Pengji was confused. What suckers?
Liu She smiled and took a sip of tea. He told her about the visit from the Hejian County Chief. "You should have one hundred people in your troops, right? If you are willing, you can lend them to the Hejian County Chief. He will be in charge of the troops, but you can make all the decisions secretly. You can divide the spoils of war. As for the captured bandits, I will talk to him and give him a clear path … "
Jiang Pengji had secretly suppressed the bandits and recruited usable bandits into the troops. It was a good idea, but it was not a good way to explain if they were discovered. Liu She wanted to use this opportunity to give her a clear path and get a call from the Hejian County Chief.
Of course, the hundred people belonged to his daughter, so it was not appropriate for Liu She to make the decision for her.
If Jiang Pengji was not willing, Liu She planned to send one hundred people from his guards to the Hejian County Chief.
Jiang Pengji listened and thought about it carefully. She was a bit tempted.
Giving her a clear path was only one of the benefits. The other was that during the suppression of the bandits, all the expenses of the troops would be paid by the public account.
What did it mean by paying the public account?
The Chief of Hejian County collected food from various aristocratic families and used it all to feed Jiang Pengji's troops. Jiang Pengji didn't have to spend a single cent. Although some of the spoils of war would be taken by the Chief of Hejian County, she had more choices about the captured bandits and even other benefits.
In layman's terms, it was using other people's money to feed one's own troops.
There were many gentry families in Hejian, so they had more money and food. No matter how stingy those people were, they would pay a little for the sake of their reputation. The total amount of food was very considerable … Jiang Pengji felt that they could eat some of it and carry some of it away.
"Of course. After all, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. The bandits near Hejian must be eliminated. In the past, we could only do it secretly. Now we have a good reason to do it, and there will be people who will pay for the expenses … Wouldn't it be unfair to myself if I don't accept such a good offer? "
It was not easy to start from scratch. One would not know the cost of food if one did not manage the household.
The scale of the troops was still small. When the number of people reached thousands or even tens of thousands, she would not be able to feed so many people with her current wealth.
Therefore, it was very important to increase income and reduce expenditure.
Liu She's move helped her solve a problem and saved her a lot of expenses.
He pressed his lips together as if he wanted to suppress the smile on his face, but the gentle smile in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
"Since you have agreed, I will inform the Hejian County Chief tomorrow." Liu She paused and then asked in a low voice, "Have you cleaned up the aftermath of the incident with Meng Liang?"
"Father, don't worry. It has been done," Jiang Pengji answered with certainty.
The "father and son" looked at each other and smiled. They both saw the slyness in each other's eyes.
At that moment, the news of Meng Liang, the second son of the Meng's, being murdered spread like wildfire.
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