Pang Xiao nodded and said with a smile, "You two know me best."
Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi were relieved when they saw that Pang Xiao had a card up his sleeve.
Pang Xiao deliberately allowed all kinds of rumors and slanders to fester in the barracks. In just one night, half of the people in the barracks were talking about this. There were even some people who were instigated by someone other than Pang Xiao to spread the word that they might not receive any pay for the next year.
Everyone was in a state of panic, and the barracks were full of impetuosity.
Especially when it was time to distribute food and pay, Pang Xiao did not make a move.
These worried people finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
Early in the morning, light snow floated down from the sky.
Pang Xiao had just finished washing up when Huzi strode into the tent.
"Wang Ye, those bastards outside are making a ruckus!"
Pang Xiao snorted and threw the handkerchief in his hand into the wooden basin. He put on his cloak and said, "Let's go out and take a look."
As they strode out of the tent, the noise in the distance entered their ears. Pang Xiao and Huzi followed the sound. The closer they got, the louder the noise became. When they arrived at the drill ground, they saw that there were at least two to three thousand people gathered in one place. The noise was so loud that it did not seem like they were in a military drill ground, but more like they were in a market.
Pang Xiao slowly walked forward with his hands crossed.
In the crowd, someone shouted, "Stop talking, Wang Ye is here!"
The crowd was silent for a moment, but then it started to clamor again.
Someone asked loudly, "Wang Ye, we owe our pay for a month. Our wives and children are waiting for food! When will we get paid? "
"That's right, Wang Ye. What's the point of being a soldier? Isn't it just to earn money?! When will Wang Ye pay us?! "
"We want to be paid! We want to eat! "
… …
One person in the group raised his fist and roared. Immediately, the people around him followed suit and roared.
The men's roars were so loud that it shook the mountains and the earth. The people who were targeted by the crowd could feel the resentment that was almost tangible.
Pang Xiao let these people shout for a while. When their voices died down, he said, "This King understands how brothers feel. This King has been a soldier for ten years. He ate and lived with the soldiers in the barracks. How can he not understand how they feel? Speaking of money, we are indeed tight right now. Magistrate Yang is not in a hurry to return the money he borrowed from Lu Zhang. But since everyone is following this King, this King can't let everyone work for nothing! "
Pang Xiao raised his voice raised's's's's s's's ears's ears's back.
"Good! Good! "
Among the crowd, there were only a few who were incited to stir up trouble. Most of the people gathered together for the sake of the food. Moreover, most of the people in the army had fought with Pang Xiao and the Tiger Army in the Dayan. They still remembered Pang Xiao's superb command of the troops and how he led the troops in front of the two armies.
Therefore, when Pang Xiao called for help, this group of people agreed.
Why were they doing this? Of course it was for the money. Since Wang Ye had a way to lead them to get the money, they just had to follow Wang Ye. There was nothing wrong with that!
The people in the crowd couldn't help but look at each other in dismay.
They had worked so hard, but it was all ruined by Prince Zhongshun's' words?
Someone in the crowd raised his voice again. "We don't believe it! Wang Ye can't be thinking of pacifying us now and then going back on his word! "
"That's right! Unless Wang Ye takes out the money now, we won't believe it! "
Pang Xiao looked at the people who were shouting with a faint smile. Huzi also looked at them and silently memorized their faces.
Pang Xiao said, "Brothers, This King can understand if you don't believe it right now. In the end, it's just empty talk without any evidence. It's not enough to win your trust. However, I'm sure the brothers who fought with me know what kind of person Pang Xiao is. That Pang Xiao's spittle is a nail in the coffin! When he said he would lead everyone to get the money, he meant it! "
Pang Xiao raised his money and walked into the crowd. He said, "Everyone knows that there is a war in the north, right? The Da Zhou Dynasty was founded not long ago. After many years of war, the state treasury is completely empty! To put it bluntly, even a mouse would come out crying after going in! "
"Haha!" The crowd burst into laughter. The tense atmosphere immediately eased.
Pang Xiao said, "That's why it's not easy for us to count on the money in the state treasury. Lu Zhang had previously borrowed a large sum of money from the Four-Way Shop, but he still doesn't have the ability to pay it back. Magistrate Yang is in a terrible fix, and the Four-Way Shop won't lend us any money to pay our salaries. Therefore, benwang thought about it and thought of a way to make a lot of money. "
"Wang Ye, what brilliant idea do you have? Please don't hesitate to tell us."
Pang Xiao smiled. "It's not a brilliant idea. This King is the same as everyone else. We are all uncouth, but our fists are tough. This King went out for a stroll in the past few days and found that there are many mountain peaks nearby. There are many bandits living on the mountain peaks and who knows how many commoners they have harmed.
"They have a lot of money in their mountain strongholds. This King plans to take some people out to beat them up and teach those bastards a lesson. They have so much strength, but they don't join the army to protect the country. Instead, they shamelessly bully the weak. They're really a disgrace to all men!"
Pang Xiao spat with righteous indignation as he spoke.
Many men were stimulated by Pang Xiao's words. They were originally soldiers, and soldiers naturally knew how to fight. They had not been able to fight for a long time, so they had to train in the barracks. Ever since Wang Ye became the Grand Marshal, the content of their training became more varied, and they were tired after a day.
They were equally tired, but they had to face the fact that they had no pay. They might as well follow Wang Ye to exterminate the bandits and rob him of his money.
Thinking of this, everyone cheered. "Good, let's f * * king do it!"
There were less than three thousand people present, but more than a thousand people agreed with Pang Xiao's decision.
However, there were still a large number of people who hesitated and did not speak.
They felt that it was right and proper for soldiers to earn money. Why should they do extra work? Among them, there were even people who were instigated by others who were determined to make things difficult for Pang Xiao.
Therefore, these people made different voices and protested. They were determined not to go out to exterminate the bandits.
Pang Xiao crossed his arms and looked at them for a while. He smiled and said, "Is there anyone who doesn't want to go?"
Someone shouted, "Why should we take the risk and pay for it?!"
"Why?" Pang Xiao glared at him and said angrily, "Because you are soldiers! Because you have to obey military orders! " Could it be that there are foreign enemies invading at this time, and you want to shrink your necks and not move because you are afraid of death? "
Pang Xiao's sudden roar startled everyone, and silenced them one after another.
Pang Xiao said, "We are called 100,000 brothers in the army. We are stationed here. Can we just watch those bastards who call themselves heroes bully the people around us? Are all of you soldiers just to earn money? Don't you have the courage of a man? "
At this point, Pang Xiao did not wait for everyone to react. He said, "Today, the happiest people are all of you present. Those who want to go with This King, gather here early tomorrow morning. Those who don't want to go can choose not to go! But let's make it clear first. After we get the money, we will first take care of the food and pay for the brothers who follow This King. Next, we will take care of the honest brothers who don't want to cause trouble. Last, we will take care of you who jump high and look for trouble, but shrink your necks and hide when you encounter difficulties. Whether there are any leftovers will depend on your own luck. "
Pang Xiao waved his hand and said, "Disperse. Go back and think about it yourselves."
Pang Xiao strode towards the tent. Huzi immediately followed and whispered, "Master, will they all refuse to go with you?"
Pang Xiao smiled and said, "They won't. Men die for wealth, and birds die for food. At least half of these troublemakers will go with us. "Then he joked," If too many people go, there won't be enough to share the loot. "
Huzi thought about it, and it seemed to make sense. He also laughed.
The next day, as Pang Xiao expected, there were about a thousand people gathered on the drill ground.
Pang Xiao smiled and said, "Good. This King has already made the list of troublemakers yesterday. There are a total of 2,633 people. But today, there are more than a thousand people who have withdrawn. Forget it, This King knows who is going and who is not going. Anyway, we have more than a thousand brothers. We have enough people. "
As he spoke, he gave the order to set out.
Just as Pang Xiao led the crowd to set out, the soldiers who made a ruckus yesterday but did not want to go with him today became nervous.
They knew about Pang Xiao's bad temper. They were really afraid that Pang Xiao would come back and settle accounts with them.
However, this bandit suppression team, which had less than a thousand people, was very fortunate to be following behind Pang Xiao.
The crowd left the camp and went west for about twenty li. They arrived at a dense forest near the official road. Pang Xiao waved his hand and stopped the troops.
"Everyone, set up an ambush here."
With Pang Xiao's order, nearly a thousand people set up an ambush in the forest on both sides of the road in an orderly manner.
The weather was clear today, and there was no rain or snow. So it was easy for everyone to set up an ambush.
However, this wait lasted for two hours.
At this time, some people began to become impatient. They said they were going to suppress bandits, but they did not take them to attack any mountain stronghold. Why were they setting up an ambush on the side of the road?
Everyone cursed silently, but no one dared to ask Pang Xiao face to face. They all knew how powerful Prince Zhongshun was. Who dared to touch his reverse scale?
Pang Xiao was not worried at all. He held a straw stick in his mouth and carefully observed the movements on the official road. Not long after, Huzi ran over and whispered a few words in his ear. Pang Xiao threw away the straw stick and ordered the people around him.
"The bandits will pretend to be merchants. They will be transporting treasures back to the mountain stronghold. Tell everyone to pay attention. Only take the goods and do not kill people. All the bandits must be captured alive."
"Yes!" The people around him responded in a low voice and scattered to send the message.
After a while, everyone knew about Pang Xiao's strange order.
Suppressing bandits, but only taking the goods and not killing people.
At this time, on the official road, a caravan was approaching from the outside of the old capital. In front of the caravan was a large flag. The symbol of "Four Ports" was particularly eye-catching under the sun.
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