Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

After listening, Song Qingfeng thought the leader of the Snow Night Tribe was utterly stupid.

Isn't this just asking for trouble?

Who told you to distribute the grain seeds? You distributed them, but how dare you expect others to give you half of their harvest?

It's not like you're so powerful that other tribes wouldn't dare to mess with you, so why are you so arrogant?

That said, having been driven out of their original territory, can the Snow Night tribe still suppress other tribes? Is it still necessary for them to help?
Song Qingfeng narrowed his eyes, carefully considering what to say.

"Our leader said that as long as Daliang has a thousand soldiers, they will definitely wipe out those tribes," said a member of the Snow Night tribe.

"How is your leader now?" Song Qingfeng asked.

“Our leader is in a safe place, waiting for your reinforcements to arrive,” another person said. “As soon as they see the army of Daliang, they will definitely not dare to be arrogant.”

At this moment, Song Qingfeng thought that if the Xueye tribe completely lost power, it would be a huge loss for the border defense of Daliang. All the help given to the Xueye tribe over the years would be wasted, and they would have to be careful of the savages' attacks from time to time.

“This is no small matter,” Song Qingfeng said. “You need so many people; we need to consult with the imperial court before we can make a decision.”

"Then hurry up!" urged the people of the Snow Night Tribe.

"It will take at least ten days to get a reply from the imperial court. You should go back first and come back later," Song Qingfeng said.

Meng Changqing stood next to Zheng Jie and translated for him sentence by sentence.

“We can’t wait that long,” the tribespeople said. “They will steal our food, and then we won’t survive.”

“Da Liang has its own rules. Since you want our help, you have to follow our rules. It’s not like you can just do whatever you want.” Song Qingfeng’s tone became increasingly stern.

The two people from the tribe looked at each other, and all they could see on each other's faces was panic and helplessness.

At this point, someone had to step in to ease the tension. As a lower-ranking official, it was appropriate for Meng Changqing to say a few conciliatory words.

“I told you there’s no need to be in such a hurry,” Meng Changqing said. “As I said before, your leader is in a safe place, and your tribe has a large number of people, plus the weapons provided by Daliang. Surely you can hold out for at least ten days.”

"Take this message back first, and tell your leader to wait patiently for a few days."

"If we can't bring back reinforcements, there's no point in going back," the tribesmen said. "We'll wait here and ask your court to send troops quickly."

"You can wait if you want."

Meng Changqing put them up in shacks in the barbican and promised to provide them with food and drink.

Back in the city, seeing the gates locked, Song Qingfeng hurriedly went back to write a letter, but Meng Changqing stopped him, "General, are you really going to submit a memorial to the court?"

"What do you mean by that?" Song Qingfeng asked, puzzled. "Are you suggesting we keep it a secret? Prefect Zheng, what do you think?"

“It involves foreign tribes, so we definitely can’t hide it,” Zheng Jie added. “I don’t think Magistrate Meng meant that either.”

“What the Prefect says is true.” Meng Changqing then turned to Song Qingfeng, “General, the people of the court cannot personally go to the scene to understand the situation. What decisions they make depends entirely on how you write your memorial.”

General, it would be best to be cautious.

Song Qingfeng wiped his cold nose; caution was indeed necessary. Meng Changqing continued, saying, "No one can guarantee that what these two people are saying is the truth. Even if the general and the prefect report based on the actual situation, without any personal speculation, if they fall into a trap, the court officials won't blame themselves for making a mistake in their decision-making; they will only blame the two for providing incorrect information."

What if asking for reinforcements is just an excuse? What if the Snow Night tribe has already colluded with the Yan state?

Meng Changqing's two possible scenarios nearly froze Song Qingfeng in place.

He had his doubts, but he couldn't figure out why the Xueye tribe would do this. The Xueye tribe was cooperating well with Daliang, so why would they want to submit to Yan? And would Yan even want them to submit?

Song Qingfeng felt that the possibility was unlikely, so he suppressed the thought as soon as it popped into his head.

But now, when Meng Changqing brought it up again, what he had initially thought was unlikely suddenly became the truth behind the conspiracy.

Following this line of thought, it is indeed strange. Why do these two people insist on having a thousand men? Why do they keep urging them to send troops as soon as possible?

People become especially cautious when their own interests are involved.

“What Magistrate Meng said makes sense.” Song Qingfeng advised Zheng Jie, “When we write the memorial, we must be careful with our wording. As for whether or not to help the Xueye tribe, that’s a decision for the court to make. We two shouldn’t offer any suggestions.”

When Meng Changqing heard him say this, he was surprised. Why was Song Qingfeng speaking so frankly to Zheng Jie, whom he barely knew?
Could it be that there are other connections between these two that she is unaware of?

Meng Changqing was preoccupied with the relationship between the two and completely ignored the Xueye tribe's request for help.

Regardless of whether it's true or not, Meng Changqing has no intention of helping.

She felt pure disgust for the Jiewan savages and wasn't worried at all that her previous help had been wasted. If it was wasted, so be it; it was better than continuing to help foreign tribes.

As for Zheng Jie, he had been listening all this time and clearly sensed Song Qingfeng's wavering attitude.

He asked, "General Song, since we can't determine the truth based solely on their words, why not send someone out to verify it?"

“Prefect Zheng, is it true that hearing is deceiving and seeing is necessarily believing?” Song Qingfeng said. “Let’s not even talk about how dangerous it is for our people to leave the city walls. Just consider that in our position, the more we do, the more mistakes we make.”

Before Zheng Jie could speak, Meng Changqing could tell from his expression that he disagreed with Song Qingfeng's words.

“General Song, how can an official be afraid of taking responsibility? What is the point of the court placing us here? We are paid by the emperor, so we should be loyal to the emperor.” Zheng Jie turned his head, seemingly unwilling to even look at Song Qingfeng. “General Song, just do what you want, and I will do what I want.”

After Zheng Jie finished speaking, he was about to leave, and it was unclear where he planned to go.

Song Qingfeng quickly caught up and coaxed, "Prefect Zheng, why get angry? Even if we have different opinions, there's no need to fall out. Perhaps after listening to your words, I'll be convinced?"

Zheng Jie stopped and asked him, "Has the general been persuaded by me?"

Song Qingfeng was taken aback, then said, "Yes, yes, I'm convinced."

Meng Changqing followed behind them, frowning as he watched. What the hell was this? What kind of bizarre scene was this?

Is Song Qingfeng really this easy to talk to?
Song Qingfeng's series of words and gestures disgusted her. Could this guy be plotting something against Zheng Jie?

"Let's select some people to go out and gather information. We'll write a report after the scouts return," Song Qingfeng asked cautiously. "What does Prefect Zheng think?" (End of Chapter)