Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 93 First, get strings of cash!
It was almost dawn when a fast horse appeared at the gate of Su Wu's camp. Before it got close, it was discovered by many cavalry sentries.

He was also surrounded by the crowd, and the man on the horse just shouted: "I am Qin Ming, the commander of the Qingzhou army. Come on, come and see Su Dujian."

Not long after, Su Dujian also woke up from his sleep. Although he had only slept for two or three hours, he felt refreshed. He washed his face with cold water and went to the central military tent first.

After a while, Qin Ming came. The moment he walked in, he looked at the hero who stood up from the main seat in the central military tent.

He was tall and strong, and although he was not wearing armor, he was still dignified. He had big eyes and a straight nose, a square upper face, and a slightly long lower face. He looked handsome at first glance.

The beard on both sides of his jaw is thick but not long, so he should be young.

What a mighty and handsome man!
The big man only spoke: "Is it really Chief Steward Qin who is here in person?"

Qin Ming stepped forward immediately, bowed his hands, and knelt on one knee: "Thank you for the grace of Su Dujian for saving me!"

Su Wu quickly stood up to help, and he also formed his first impression of Qin Ming: when he spoke, his voice was like a bell and thunder, his eyes were like copper bells, his face was broad and his beard was thick, and his brows were locked with several grooves.

Needless to say, his body shape is as strong and sturdy as a wild boar weighing several hundred pounds in the mountains.

This is Qin Ming, the Thunderbolt.

"Why does Chief Steward Qin have to be so generous?" Su Wu tried to help him up, but he couldn't.

Since they couldn't lift it up, people came to help, including Yang Zhi and Lin Chong. Together, the three of them lifted up the huge "wild boar".

No wonder Song Jiang values ​​Qin Ming. With such appearance and personality, who wouldn’t like him?

Qin Ming looked around at this time. There were many officers in the military tent. At first glance, they all looked strong and vigorous.

Thinking about the armored soldiers under Su Wu's command and the one or two hundred dead bandits piled outside the camp, it was truly a rare and powerful army.

Su Wu held Qin Ming's hand. Qin Ming said with mixed feelings: "Alas, if Su Dujian hadn't rushed over 600 miles to rescue me, I would have been defeated in this battle and I don't know how it would end!"

"You have fallen into the trap of the thieves. Just be more careful in the future. It's nothing." Su Wu came to comfort you.

"Now that I'm back, I don't know how to explain to the prefect and the minister, or how to explain to the court." Qin Ming had a lot on his mind at this time. After being defeated, he would naturally be charged with countless crimes from top to bottom.

Su Wu laughed when he heard this: "How could there be any great defeat? It's just that the bandits are too powerful, with tens of thousands of them, and General Qin's troops were scattered. He has been gathering his troops in the mountains and forests, and has not returned yet!"

Qin Ming was stunned when he heard this. He had been captured by the thieves, and this Su Dujian from Dongping Prefecture had seen it with his own eyes. How could...

Su Wu smiled and said, "Later, the general manager will go to the forest to gather his troops. At least 200 to 300 people will be brought back. It is inevitable that General Manager Qin will have a bloody battle with the bandits."

"Huh?" Qin Ming hadn't reacted yet and just looked around.

Lin Chong smiled and said, "General Qin, who saw you lose? Who saw you captured by the bandits? All the soldiers under your command are your trusted ones. How could you say such nonsense without considering General Qin's face? Besides, even if someone said nonsense, didn't General Qin fight his way out of the bandits? How brave is that? General Qin is the real Li Guang!"

The real Li Guang did this in history. Even when he was captured by the Huns, he was able to kill people, take their horses and run back.

How could Qin Ming not understand?
This is Su Dujian trying to save his own reputation. Not only did he save himself, he was also trying his best to cover up his failure.

Qin Ming lowered his knees again, this time just pushing both knees to the ground.

Su Wu hurried to support him, but how could he do it all by himself?
Qin Ming knelt on the ground, clasped his hands in front of his face, and was already in tears. He said, "Supervisor Su has been so kind. How can I, Qin Ming, repay you?"

The person was saved, his life was saved, his face was restored, and his future was preserved. How great is this favor?

"Hey! Just listen to what Qin Zongguan said in the mountains. He didn't care about his own safety and just taught me to kill the bandits. I knew that Zongguan was the kind of person who would not hesitate to die! Heroes appreciate heroes. Where in the world is there an undefeated general? A loss is nothing! It is this courage to dare to die that is rare in the world!"

Su Wu was talking as he was helping, and when he looked around, he saw Yang Zhilin Chong coming up again to "lift up the wild boar".

With such courage and character, when he becomes a vanguard on the battlefield in the future, how can he not advance like a pig?

Qin Ming was truly moved. Even though he suffered a great defeat, Supervisor Su actually had kind words to comfort him in person.

"Superintendent Su, I..."

Looking at Qin Ming again, he was really wiping away tears. He was defeated and captured by the thieves in such a big way, which was already a complete loss of face. He felt extremely aggrieved. He had a violent personality, so why had he ever been so aggrieved in his life?
Men don't shed tears easily, but at this moment, with so many mixed feelings in my heart, how can I not shed tears?
Su Wu comforted him again: "It's okay, it's okay. This is your first time on the battlefield, so you should learn how to plan. There will be more battles in the future. Be careful and cautious, and you will eventually make achievements!"

"I thought that my future was gone and I would be thrown into prison, but I didn't expect that Supervisor Su would save me like this..." Qin Ming said as he sighed and shook his head, and even lowered his head to wipe away his tears.

Su Wu shouted outside the tent: "Come on!"

Just outside the tent, several people came in, bringing Qin Ming's armor and weapons. Qin Ming's armor was really eye-catching and worth a lot of money.

Not to mention the red tasseled helmet, even the chain mail armor was inlaid with gold stars, shining brightly, and it was also matched with a brocade robe on the outside.

A huge mace with shiny copper nails.

Qin Ming took a look and was puzzled: "Why is this body here with Su Dujian?"

Lin Chong replied, "You don't know, the thief is really cruel. He actually sent someone dressed like this to accompany you and the thieves dressed as government soldiers to kill and burn villages and towns. If my chief eunuch hadn't stopped him in time, I'm afraid the thief would have been his accomplice now."

Qin Ming was horrified in his heart and shocked on his face. He thought of what Song Jiang had said before, that his weapons had been divided up. He also thought of the corpses of the bandits he had seen outside the camp just now.

Seeing Qin Ming kneeling on his knees again, he was filled with emotion: "Supervisor Su saved my life, and saved the lives of my entire family!"

Still have to lift it!

"Hey! If the steward kneels again, I will be unhappy. A man has gold under his knees, how can he kneel like this!" Su Wuzhuang said unhappily.

Qin Ming was lifted up again, and as soon as everyone's hands left, he immediately knelt down: "From now on, my life, Qin Ming, will follow the orders of Su Dujian!"

Su Wu stopped lifting the sword, as he was tired of doing so. He just said, "I don't like what you said. Since General Qin has such thoughts, why don't we follow the example of Emperor Taizu and become sworn brothers?"

Su Wu also looked at Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, and even Zhu Longhu Cheng.

"Okay, okay, it couldn't be better. I'm just afraid the eunuch will dislike it." Qin Ming nodded repeatedly.

Su Wu turned around and knelt, raising his hand and waving: "Everyone come together!"

How could Lin Chong and Yang Zhi be unwilling? Zhu Long Hucheng felt that he was taking advantage of the situation, and Cao Zheng was embarrassed. How could he become sworn brothers in front of his master?

But if he didn't kneel at this time, it would seem that he had two minds.

Just kneel down.

Lin Chong said with regret: "What a pity, what a pity that my brother Lu Da is not here today..."

Su Wu said, "It's okay. We can meet again tomorrow. We are not just one or two people sworn brothers. If there is a chance in the future, we will definitely have a big gathering!"

Su Wu really learned from Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin. How did Zhao Kuangyin rise to power in the army in the past?

They were the "Ten Brothers of the Righteous Society" in the army. They kowtowed to each other and from then on they advanced and retreated together, advancing again and again, and finally entered the Golden Palace, drove away the orphans and widows, and from then on the Song Dynasty was established.

Su Wu has already spoken: "Heaven and earth are witnesses. As warriors of our generation, we have only loyalty and righteousness in our hearts. We are sworn brothers here today. We will advance and retreat together and will never violate our loyalty. If we lose our loyalty and righteousness, we will be outraged by both humans and gods, and will not be tolerated by heaven and earth. I will die without a burial place!"

Just look at Su Wu kowtowing, and everyone else is kowtowing too, all saying the same thing.

Qin Ming kowtowed and stood up, with countless emotions in his heart. He only said: "He was originally a defeated general. It is me who climbed up. It is me, Qin Ming, who climbed up!"

"The oath has already been taken, why do you have to say this, brother Qin Ming?" Su Wu said with a smile.

"Greetings, brother in person!" Qin Ming gave another great gift.

"Brother Qin Ming, while it's still dark, you should hurry to the mountains to gather your troops. I will ride with you fifty fast riders, so we can go and come back easily. Hurry and gather your troops and return before nightfall today."

Su Wu arranged everything in an orderly and thorough manner, just to ensure that Qin Ming would have a bright future.

Qin Ming was about to bow and speak again.

Su Wu directly helped him up and said, "Brothers, there is no need to say more. Just go quickly."

Qin Ming nodded heavily, gritting his teeth and saying, "I will definitely follow my brother to attack the bandit stronghold and kill the evil-minded Song Jiang!"

"Brother, go!"

Qin Ming turned around and left. He was so excited that he was determined to wipe out all the shame he had suffered.

Looking inside the big tent, Yang Zhi smiled and said, "Brother saved Qin Ming today. I just realized that Commander Lin was right. Brother is really a man of great righteousness. I am here to worship him. I, Yang Zhi, have found a wise master!"

Lin Chong also laughed: "Brother, I have seen your kindness to others for a long time. Seeing it again today, I feel that I underestimated you in the past."

Zhu Long said with a smile: "Even when my brother was still young, he was loyal to me and made people convinced." Hu Cheng became more honest and just smiled and said: "It is my honor today!"

Cao was behind, smiling, but he didn't know what to say. He was most embarrassed today, but he was happier in his heart.

Su Wu just smiled and bowed left and right.

Sometimes, you hit the jackpot by accident, the so-called "paying a fortune for a horse's bones" is just like this.

Just by looking at how Su Wu treats Qin Ming today, everyone will know how Su Wu will treat themselves in the future.

Before daybreak, people in the camp had already started cooking, with smoke rising up everywhere.

Su Wu took his generals out on patrol. Even if they had to cook, they had their own rules. Preventing fire was the first priority, and making sure everyone had enough to eat was the second. They also had to see if anyone was embezzling anything.

Even when Su Wu was on patrol, he would ask everywhere whether they had enough to eat, which is the image of a man who loves his soldiers like his own sons in the hearts of the soldiers.

As soon as it was dawn, Su Wu sent someone to the city to report. Within a moment, someone from the city came and invited Su Wu to enter the city.

This time, Su Wu went into the city on his own.

I met Murong Yanda again in the prefectural government office.

Murong Yanda's face was already beaming with smiles. "General Su is really amazing, he is truly a good general in the world. In the battle last night, the bandit leaders piled up like a mountain outside the camp. I just went to the top of the city wall to see it. His military achievements are really outstanding. Even the bandit leader Wang Ying was killed by General Su. General Su, rest assured, I will report the truth to the court. I only hope that General Su will keep up the good work and kill more bandits!"

Su Wu smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, sir. Now that we are here, we will definitely wipe out all the bandits in Qingzhou!"

"Okay, okay, I'm just waiting for the governor to say this. This government will write a letter to Tokyo to request credit for the governor. I'll wait until the governor has wiped out all the bandits, and then I'll ask for credit!"

Murong Yanda obviously saw hope and was also trying to appease Su Wu and win people's hearts.

This Qingzhou bandit incident had already made him extremely anxious, and it also made him lose face in the Privy Council and the court. He even received official documents of accountability from the Secretariat and the Privy Council one after another.

He just felt that he was extremely unlucky. How could he have known that so many bandits suddenly appeared?
Now it is really possible to wipe them out completely, that would be the best, otherwise the future would be difficult.

Su Wu's brain was also working quickly, and he said, "I did find out what Chief Steward Qin was up to last night..."

"Hmm? Supervisor Su, tell us quickly..." Murong Yanda said hurriedly.

"Yesterday, Chief Steward Qin fought a bloody battle with the bandits, but the bandits were too powerful. There were thousands of them in the forests and mountains. Chief Steward had few men, but he still fought hard. His subordinates were defeated and Chief Steward Qin himself was surrounded. At one point, it seemed that he would fall into the hands of the bandits, but he actually fought his way out of the siege alone. Now he is gathering his subordinates in the forests and is waiting for another battle. I think he will come back to reorganize his army at nightfall today!"

Su Wu said this for two reasons.

First, it is to protect Qin Ming's face and future.

Second, the credit cannot belong to one person alone. Giving some to Qin Ming is secondary. The main thing is to give some to Murong Yanda as well. Qin Ming's credit is actually Murong Yanda's credit.

After all, Su Wu was a guest soldier. If all the credit was taken by him, Murong Yanda would still lose face. Now Murong Yanda said nice things, but when he turns around, he will probably try every means to save face for himself. Then Su Wu might not get much justice.

As long as Murong Yanda can save his face, with Cheng Wanli behind him, Murong Yanda won't have to go too far.

This is the way of human nature.

As expected, Murong Yanda's face was filled with joy, and he nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, good, Qin Ming really doesn't disappoint. The chief supervisor is even more amazing. The bandits are so powerful, but the chief supervisor is still fearless. This time, the chief supervisor will definitely succeed in suppressing the bandits!"

As for the fact that the bandits had several thousand men, Murong Yanda readily accepted it.

Obviously, he didn't know how many bandits there were, but he was willing to accept it. If there weren't tens of thousands of bandits, why would he be so desperate in Qingzhou? Why did he have to ask the court for reinforcements?

Even with these words, Su Wu achieved his goal, which was to tie Murong Yanda and Qin Ming together in this matter. If Qin Ming made a contribution, it would be Murong Yanda's contribution.

If someone spreads gossip in the future, saying that Qin Ming suffered a great defeat and fell into the hands of thieves, wouldn't that be nonsense? It is really the work of villains to frame loyal people.

In Murong Yanda's memorial, Qin Ming could only be described as having fought bloody battles with thousands, or even tens of thousands, of bandits, fighting without retreat and with unparalleled courage, killing the generals among the tens of thousands of bandits and then reorganizing his army to fight again.

In this way, Su Wu wiped out tens of thousands of bandits with only two thousand soldiers and horses. Needless to say, this contribution is beyond words.

This is the purpose of entering the city today.

It means that one must have a deep understanding of the ways of human nature and officialdom, be able to apply them to one's own benefit, and do so in a subtle and silent way.

Su Wu just said: "Sir, I will go out of the city again to find out the movements of the bandits and then fight them to the death."

"Okay, okay, I'm in the city, just waiting for good news from the governor." Murong Yanda no longer spoke about stationing troops in the city.

He also said: "Don't worry, Governor. This government is allocating food and money in the city and will send it to the army in the afternoon!"

Murong Yanda actually knew how to win people's hearts. At this moment, even if he was stingy, he knew what to do.

It was just that Su Wu and his soldiers were really willing to sacrifice their lives to wipe out the tens of thousands of bandits in Qingzhou.

"Thank you, sir." Su Wu bowed and prepared to leave.

Murong Yanda also said: "Don't worry, Commander, just fight hard. There is plenty of food and fodder. I will give you 100,000 strings of cash as reward for the troops. After you succeed, I will definitely treat you well!"

"I will definitely live up to your kindness, sir!" Su Wu was delighted in his heart, but he showed no sign of it on his face. He just bowed and left.

One hundred thousand strings of cash was worth it. It was also because Murong Yanda had been in Qingzhou for a long time and was really rich, far more than Cheng Wanli could compare to.

Cheng Wanli, the unfortunate one, had to seek a career at the eunuch's door. He must not have done well in the capital. He had just taken office in Dongping Prefecture, so how could he compare to his brother, the imperial concubine? Not to mention Liang Zhongshu of Daming Prefecture.

Even such a hundred thousand strings of cash is nothing compared to one's future career in officialdom.

But for Su Wu, it was really a huge sum of money.

It is said that the Song Dynasty was prosperous, with rapid economic and cultural development. The rich were really rich and could spend hundreds of thousands of strings of cash at will.

The poor were still extremely poor. For example, Su Wu, who could barely support 2,000 soldiers and horses, had to endure the financial difficulties.

After returning to the camp, Su Wu did not mobilize the troops as he was not in a hurry.

Wait for Ruda to come back first.

In Qingzhou, where did thousands of bandits come from? Not to mention tens of thousands. Even if we counted all the troops under Lu Da and Yang Zhi, the number of troops from Sanshan would be at most two or three thousand, maybe even less.

Of course, things like suppressing bandits require several "big battles" and the show must be done in full.

Su Wu returned to the camp, but the troops did not move for a long time.

Before noon, the gates of Qingzhou city were opened, and rows of carriages came out of the city gates, as well as various wheelbarrows and even things carried on shoulders and hands.

Countless food and fodder, and one hundred thousand in cash.

There were also gifts specifically for Su Wu personally, and of course, there were also heartfelt words from Murong Yanda, wishing that Su Wu would quickly send troops to bravely suppress the bandits.

They also thought that Su Wu was unwilling to send troops because he did not see the money and food.

It’s okay to think so.

Su Wu only replied to the visitor that he would send troops into the mountains to suppress the bandits at the earliest tonight and at the latest tomorrow morning, and told Governor Murong not to worry.

It was only in the afternoon that Luda came back.

The central army said, "Captain, we have reached an agreement with Li Zhongzhou. We just need to appease the people in the village, divide the money and property, and disperse the people, and then they will come."

Su Wu nodded and said, "Then we should go and suppress the bandits. Commander Lu, go there again and tell them that I am here to suppress them..."

"What is this, Chief Eunuch?" Lu Da was stunned.

Lin Chong said with a smile: "Brother Lu Da, it's all right, it's all right. Governor Murong sent us money and food and urged us to send troops to suppress the bandits. How can we not go and suppress them?"

Lu Da understood what he said and smiled: "Oh, then we should go and suppress them. I will go first and let Li Zhong and Zhou Tong be prepared!"

Lu Da went out immediately and rode away on his horse.

Su Wu also came out from the center of the army: "Beat the drums, gather the troops!"

It means that we must first destroy Taohua Mountain and then attack Qingfeng Mountain.

There is no need to fight for real at Taohua Mountain, but just pretending to do so is also a credit. Qingfeng Mountain is the one that really needs a fight.

(End of this chapter)