Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 45 Don't Laugh

The incident in Dongping Prefecture was temporarily settled, and Suo Chao stayed in Dongping Prefecture to take charge. All the soldiers from various factions were temporarily transferred to Suo Chao's command.

Su Wu took Wu Song and Zhou Jin, plus fifty cavalry and three hundred infantry, and headed straight for Yanggu County.

There was no rush along the way. Dong Ping was bound to go south to Liangshan Marsh, as there was no place for him in the nearby prefectures.

Yanggu County is in the west, so Yun Liwan must not have known that such a big thing would suddenly happen in Dongping Prefecture.

However, Su Wu still moved quickly and went there overnight.

The next morning, just after dawn, Hu Sanniang had already gotten up early on Dulonggang and was playing with two long swords in the village's training ground. Someone came from afar to report that a large number of soldiers were seen coming this way.

She was quite alert. She asked the farmhands to close the gate first, and then she took a few riders to the main road to check.

Looking at the road, Zhu Biao had already arrived, and even Lijiazhuang's housekeeper Du Xing had arrived as well. Several of them were watching on the road.

Du Xing is the steward of Li Ying, the Flying Eagle, and also Li Ying's confidant. He is also quite skilled in martial arts and has a nickname "Ghost Face" in the martial arts world. In the story, he is also expected to be one of the future heroes of Liangshan, ranking eighty-ninth.

The army coming from the east was well-disciplined, with dozens of riders at the front looking particularly majestic.

Zhu Biao was already saying, "Could it be that Dong Ping led his troops out of the city?"

Du Xing nodded and replied: "This time, I'm afraid I'll have to pay some tribute and serve you."

Hu Sanniang frowned slightly and said, "I think we should prepare the wine and food first."

The three villages of Dulonggang were able to build forts and keep villagers on this land, and they also hid a lot of weapons and armor, all because someone turned a blind eye.

Since then, he and Dong Ping, the military commander of Dongping Prefecture, have to pay a lot of tributes and serve him every year.

Dong Ping is actually quite wealthy, which is something Suo Chao cannot compare to. Why?
Because Suo Chao was only the military commander of Daming Prefecture in Beijing, not the military commander of Daming Prefecture, which means that Suo Chao had a superior.

If we really judge the current situation based on official rank, Su Wu has risen to the top overnight. As long as the prefect Cheng Wanli can handle Su Wu's affairs, Su Wu's official rank will surpass Suo Chao.

As for why Suo Chao and Su Wu are so close, one reason is that they have a similar destiny, and the other is that they died together on the battlefield. Perhaps there are also these considerations, that is, Su Wu now has the trust of Cheng Wanli.

Tong Guan, the benefactor of Cheng Wanli, is the real power in the Privy Council. It's not that Suo Chao doesn't have connections. Suo Chao also has the trust of Liang Zhongshu, whose father-in-law is the prime minister Cai Jing.

But when it comes to the promotion and transfer of soldiers, the county magistrate is not as good as the current one. Tong Guan and Tong Taiwei are the real good options.

In other words, Su Wu's current opportunities are much more convenient than those of Su Chao.

Many things would be a matter of great effort in the provincial capital, but in Tokyo, it would only take a casual remark or even a glance from an important figure...

These things are not complicated.

At the main intersection of Dulonggang, several people have already started to instruct their farmhands to go back and report, and that the gates should be opened to welcome the guests, and that the owners of each household should personally welcome them.

You need to prepare wine and food, you need to prepare some large boxes to hold the money, and you may even need to prepare some food and fodder.

Seeing that group of people approaching slowly, Hu Sanniang asked doubtfully: "I didn't see the big banner with the word 'Dong' on it..."

Zhu Biao was also puzzled: "Who could it be? Who could bring so many soldiers from Dongping Prefecture?"

Ghost-faced Du Xing was a little older and more experienced, so he said, "I'm afraid they are from Dongping Prefecture?"

"If they are not troops from Dongping Prefecture, could they be guest troops from other prefectures?" Zhu Biao also asked.

Du Xing thought for a moment and said, "Recently, there have been more military movements. Recently, He Tao from Jeju led his troops to Yuncheng to suppress the bandits. There were also farmhands saying that troops from Daming Prefecture passed by here in the middle of the night two days ago... If they come back like this, they are probably troops from Daming Prefecture."

Hu Sanniang asked, "Then... do we still need to prepare those things?"

Du Xing thought for a moment and said, "We still need wine and food. We should always be kind to others. As for filial piety... I'm afraid it's not necessary."

Hu Sanniang suddenly stood up from her horse and pointed from afar: "That...that person, isn't that the leader Su Dutou?"

Zhu Biao also quickly stood up and looked into the distance: "It's him, it's him."

But Hu Sanniang's eyebrows suddenly opened, and she rode forward alone. After running for a while, she shouted from afar: "Su Dutou?"

Su Wu was surprised to see a 1.8-meter-tall girl riding a horse galloping towards him. He also smiled and said, "Is it Sanniang?"

"It's me..." Hu Sanniang was really excited. Among the three villages, she was the most familiar with Su Wu.

"How did you know I was coming?" Su Wu asked.

Hu Sanniang had no idea he was coming, so she just said, "I saw people coming, so I went to the main road to take a look, but I didn't expect it to be Su Dutou."

Hu Sanniang had already approached and reined in her horse, standing side by side with Su Wu, and asked again, "Where did Su Dutou get so many men and horses?"

"We are all brothers from Daming Prefecture." Su Wu answered and started chatting.

"These horses and men are quite strong." Sanniang seemed to like this kind of thing very much, so she turned around to watch carefully and also praised them.

Zhou Jin on the side said with a smile: "This lady is not Su Dutou in front of you, but General Su, the military commander of Dongping Prefecture."

"Ah?" Hu Sanniang was shocked for a moment, and seeing the people around her, it seemed that they were not lying. Su Wu was happy in his heart, but he still said: "Temporarily acting as the military commander, there is no official document from the Tokyo Privy Council."

Zhou Jin added: "The official imperial edict will only take about ten days."

Hu Sanniang came to her senses and asked, "Have you really become the military commander of Dongping Prefecture?"

Su Wu smiled and said nothing.

"What about Dong Ping?" Hu Sanniang asked immediately.

Wu Song said, "He was a traitor and a traitor, but we have driven him away. My brother has made the first contribution and has been promoted to an official position."

Hu Sanniang's surprised expression was actually a kind of excitement: "So that's the case, Dong Ping is really bad, in exchange for Su Dutou... General Su, it couldn't be better, let's go, let's go to the manor to have a drink..."

Wu Song went to see his brother.

But my brother smiled and said, "Sanniang, I have work to do. I have to hurry back to Yanggu County. I will come back to find you after I finish the work..."

Hu Sanniang's face showed disappointment: "It was like this last time, and it's like this this time too. General Su, you are really hard to please."

Su Wu was really a new official. How could he not express his opinion on the territory of Dongping Prefecture and the three villages of Dulonggang?

Su Wu was helpless and could only explain: "I have a lot of errands these days, and they are urgent. I will come after I am done with my work. You can go to find me or I can go to find you. I will never break my promise."

"Well... then let's make a deal." Sanniang is really not the kind of person who is timid, she just has the character of a woman of the world.

Su Wu smiled and nodded: "Of course I agreed with you. I will come to you if I have something to ask."

"What's the matter? It's easy to ask for money and food. Dong Ping asked for a lot in the past. It's better to give it to you than to Dong Ping!" Hu Sanniang and Su Wu were familiar with each other.

"I don't want your money or food. Even if I want your family's food, I will buy it at a clearly marked price." Su Wu smiled.

"Ah? Then I'll give you a good price, and I won't mind giving you some as well." Hu Sanniang seemed to understand the ways of the world, and asked again: "What do you want from us? Just tell me."

The girl's clear tone of voice was chattering. Could it be that Su Wu didn't say anything?

Su Wu really liked Hu Sanniang's character, so he said, "You have many farmhands, hired farmers, tenant farmers, and good families here. The people are tough, so I want to recruit some soldiers from you to work in Dongping Prefecture, either to assassinate me or to follow me around."

Su Wu now needs to cultivate his own manpower. Trust is a big problem among the soldiers in Dongping Prefecture. This is one of the reasons. Another point is that Su Wu is somewhat disdainful of these veteran soldiers. These veteran soldiers are not easy to use, and it is also troublesome to rebuild the relationship between superiors and subordinates.

It would be better to recruit a group of white-collar good-family men, who are easy to trust and emotionally simple. In the military, this kind of relationship between superiors and subordinates is very important.

Su Wu also knew one thing: most good soldiers come from good families.

As for recruiting soldiers, it was a method used by the Song Dynasty to recruit soldiers, and then tattoo words on their faces. The Xiang army recruited refugees in this way. Even criminals were sent to the army, which was even more of a method. The professional term for scolding soldiers, "thieves in the army," came from this.

Therefore, Su Wu wanted to emphasize that he was not inviting tattoos and he would not tattoo your face.

After hearing Su Wu's words, Hu Sanniang simply replied: "What's the difficulty? There are many young men in the village, who are strong and healthy. It's better to find a job than to wander around. It won't attract any trouble, which is the best."

Su Wu smiled and said, "You should go home and discuss it with your brother, and also talk to the other two families..."

"As a new official, how can I be negligent? I have the final say on matters concerning my family. As for the other two families, I will go and talk to them myself." Hu Sanniang really took on a lot of responsibilities in front of Su Wu.

Su Wu just smiled: "Okay, okay, Sanniang is capable."

Hu Sanniang really had a proud expression on her face, and asked again: "You just defeated Dong Ping, and you are bringing so many soldiers with you, are you going to Yanggu County to get someone?"

"You..." Su Wu was not in a position to answer such a question. After all, it was a confidential matter. However, he was helpless since the young lady had guessed it.

"I'll go with you. I have nothing to do here, so I'll help you get that person." Hu Sanniang said.

"You'd better go home..." Su Wu waved his hand with a smile.

"I'll go with you!" Hu Sanniang thought he was looking down on her.

"You go back..." Su Wu also smiled helplessly.

"Don't underestimate me." Hu Sanniang pouted and tilted her head. She was really just a half-grown girl, but she was over 1.8 meters tall and looked heroic.

But Zhou Jin and Wu Song were laughing, and there were knights and soldiers behind them, all of them were laughing...

"Okay, okay..." Su Wu nodded, and turned back to say to the soldiers, "Stop laughing."

"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I'm just going to let you see how powerful I am." Hu Sanniang pretended to be angry and looked at everyone, but turned around and said to Su Wu seriously, "I'm going to let you know how powerful I am..."

Su Wu nodded repeatedly: "It's really amazing, really amazing!"

"I mean my two Sun and Moon Swords are powerful." Hu Sanniang was very smart, how could she not understand Su Wu's strange words?
"That would be great to see for yourself..." Su Wu also became interested.

Then Hu Sanniang turned around and said, "I will go and tell them about your business first, and tell them that they don't need to prepare wine and food. Just go ahead, and I will catch up with you on horseback later."

(End of this chapter)