Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 496 Hierarchy (please subscribe!)
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Driving in the dark of night is never a pleasant experience.

Ma Kuo couldn't help but said, "Can't we wait until dawn to see your governor?"

Liu Kai smiled and said, "I should have sent you to see the governor as soon as possible. I saw you working hard all the way, so that you can eat enough and go on the road."

Ma Kuo said: "Bah, bah, crow's mouth... Tell me the truth, are you afraid that your governor will suspect you?"

Liu Kai smiled and said: "You don't need to test, my governor absolutely believes in me, and I also absolutely trust my governor. I just don't want to leave a story for those admonishers. You don't know how annoying those admonishers are, what? Everything is admonished, that is, my family's great governor, I guess it would be unbearable for any other monarch."

Ma Kuo said: "During Renzong's reign, the four seas were in Yongxi, the eight wastelands were peaceful, scholars and farmers enjoyed their work, civil and military loyalty, and all admonishing officials dared not admonish them. When it collapsed, the capital stopped the market and cried for several days. Even beggars and children were burned. Before the paper money cried in Da Nei, Liao Daozong heard of its collapse, rushed forward and grabbed the hand of our Great Song envoy, crying bitterly, saying: "I didn't know the revolution in 42 years. ", and said: "I want to build a tomb for him, express his grief, and worship again, and then say to the left and right: "If I was born in China, I will just hold the whip with him and build a capital Yuhouer!" '", is it more than a hundred times stronger than your family's great governor?"

Liu Kai was silent for a while, and said: "If Emperor Renzong is in power now in your country of Song, I don't think there will be the governor of my family, nor will the predicament of the Song Dynasty today... I have served you before. He has been an official for three years. It is undeniable that he is also a generous monarch. However, he is too extravagant and lustful, and he favors traitors, blindly trusts Taoists, and is uneasy about himself. Your Majesty."

Ma Kuo looked serious, and said: "The emperor humiliated the subject to death, Liu Tongzhi, please pay attention to your words and deeds!"

Seeing this, Liu Kai said: "Look, a capable and loyal minister like you is just a small advocate. If you come to our Shuibo Liangshan, I can't guarantee the others. You lead the army alone or you rule the party."

Ma Kuo was startled, and thought: "Isn't it me who came to send you down, why did you come to send me down instead?"

Liu Kai said again: "I know best about your talent and courage. It's too wasteful to waste time in the Song Dynasty. You should come to our side and I will teach you how to use it."

Ma Kuo laughed, and said: "I know Uncle Xin, you are a man, but you didn't speak to persuade you, why did you persuade me, Ma Zichong?"

Liu Kai said: "You don't persuade me, not only because you know that I don't believe in uncle, but also because you know that I live a good life and are happy for me. I persuade you, not because I think you are a fool. You are a person with two minds, but because I know that you, Ma Zichong, are not doing well, and it is difficult for you to have a chance to display your talents over there, so I can't help but persuade you to try."

Liu Kai smiled immediately, and said again: "Besides, you don't know my great governor very well. He is sometimes very domineering, um... To be precise, he will use any means to achieve his goals. The people he likes, whether they are men, If you are a woman, you will try to get it. You don’t know, many officials in our Shuibo Liangshan were actually kidnapped by him, including Zhao Xianggong, who is currently in charge of all political affairs in Yundi. If you, Ma Zichong, are seen by him Among them, most of them will not be able to go back to the Song Kingdom."

Ma Kuo was surprised: "He is so domineering? Can he govern the country well?"

Liu Qidao: "He is domineering externally, but he is ruthless in admonition internally, and he dares to let go. Let's take Yundi as an example. He completely entrusts political affairs to Zhao Xianggong, except for occasionally bringing out a few policies to discuss with Zhao Xianggong. Apart from regularly listening to Mr. Zhao’s reports, he doesn’t care about anything else. For example, in the army, the political commissars of the army are in charge of everything in life, and the military commanders are in charge of the war. He never directs blindly through us, of course. , Officers are all appointed by him, we only have the right to recommend."

Ma Kuoqi asked, "Isn't he afraid that you will take the army away?"

Liu Kai said with a smile: "We won't, and we can't take it away either. All our troops have..." Thinking that Ma Kuo was not one of their people in Liangshan, Liu Kai didn't tell Ma Kuo that the Political Department Instead, he said vaguely: "In short, no one in the Liangshan army can take it away, except for my family's chief governor himself, so your designation this time is a conspiracy."

Ma Kuo said, "Not necessarily, but not everyone is your Uncle Liu Xin."

Liu Kai did not explain to Ma Kuo how powerful the Political Department is.

In Liu Kai's view, as long as there is a political department, it is possible for Da Song to poach a few people. After all, there are people with unsteady wills everywhere, but it is pure wishful thinking to poach the army.

Liu Kai smiled and said, "Then you will wait and see."

Seeing that Liu Kai was so determined, Ma Kuo was a little uncertain. He knew Liu Kai very well and knew that Liu Kai was by no means the kind of person who boasted, so Liu Kai must have something to rely on.

After thinking and thinking, Ma Kuo really couldn't think of what Liu Kai's support was, so he could only smile and shake his head, and then said: "Aren't you curious about what conditions Taishi Tong gave you?" - Ma Kuo is not one People who give up easily.

Liu Qi smiled and said, "If you can teach you Ma Zichong to persuade me, the conditions should not be bad. Let me guess, maybe you are teaching me to replace Zhong Shuai?"

This is what Ma Kuo admires most about Liu Kai—self-confidence and not conceited, which is the mental quality necessary for an excellent commander.

Ma Kuo thought, "Maybe Li Yan let Uncle Xin command an army of [-] just because he saw this advantage of Uncle Xin."

Even though he thought so, Ma Kuo said, "Are you interested?"

Liu Kai shook his head and said: "I can't win the battle of Baigouhe in place of the old commander. The old commander is a veteran, with experience and ability superior to mine. He lost because your Song army was not prepared enough. I didn't even think about fighting that battle, there was no trust between the top and bottom, and the leadership relationship was chaotic, so whoever took the command would be unable to escape the word 'defeat'."

Ma Kuo was silent. Regarding the defeat of Baigouhe, his conclusion was exactly the same as that of Liu Kai. In that battle, it was not impossible to avoid defeat by changing the commander.

Furthermore, at that time, Zhong Shidao was only the commander of the East Route Army, the commander of the West Route Army was Xin Xingzong, and the commander-in-chief was Tong Guan.

Liu Kai said again: "I was able to win the battle of Qingshui River not because of my commanding ability, but because my family's chief commander stood in front of the battle for me, so that the whole army obeyed my command and orders. When I made a mistake, my family's great governor did not replace me, but disregarded his honor as a great governor, and went to battle in person, picked up my mistakes, and boosted the morale of the whole army." Speaking of this, Liu Kai looked Ma Kuo said, "With such a monarch and such a commander, if you let Ma Zichong command the battle of Qingshuihe, you can also win... How can I betray him if the governor treats me like this?"

Ma Kuo was in a very complicated mood when he heard that, how he wished that Zhao Ji and Tong Guan could support the Taoism like Li Yan supported Liu Qi, then Da Song would not be so passive as they are today...

……

(End of this chapter)