Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 249 The Bottom Line
Cao Wenzhao received warm hospitality from Li Jing in Pingyang Mansion, which made it even more difficult for Cao Wenzhao to raise the issue of checking soldiers and military pay with Li Jing.

However, Li Jing already knew the purpose of Cao Wenzhao's visit.

After drinking and eating, Li Jing invited Cao Wenzhao to his study and poured a cup of tea for Cao Wenzhao. Li Jing said with a smile: "General Cao, although you and I are only meeting for the first time, we do not deal with each other twice at once. Again, I believe General Cao should have sent someone to find out about Li's character, but I don't know if General Cao can trust Li?"

Cao Wenzhao picked up the teacup and took a sip, then nodded and said: "Good tea, full-bodied taste, just like General Li. General Li, to be honest, there are not many people who admired Cao in his life, except Sun The supervisor, Marshal Yuan, Governor Hong, and General Li, in Cao's opinion, if there are a few people in this world who can be trusted, General Li must be one of them."

Li Jing smiled, knowing that the three people Cao Wenzhao was talking about were Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan and Hong Chengchou.

Cao Wenzhao was a soldier under Sun Chengzong at the beginning, and he naturally admired this master strategist inexplicably. It should be said that Cao Wenzhao's achievements today have a great relationship with being a soldier under Sun Chengzong.

Later, when Yuan Chonghuan became the governor of Jiliao, Cao Wenzhao began to show his talents temporarily and was promoted to a guerrilla general. It was not until the four cities of Yongping were recovered that Cao Wenzhao was noticed by the world, and he began to be alone.

But Cao Wenzhao was really reused, but he was transferred to Hong Chengchou's command.

Although Cao Wenzhao said that he admired these three people, he did not forget his kindness, but when Cao Wenzhao compared Li Jing with these three people, he already valued Li Jing quite a lot.

Shaking his head, Li Jing smiled and said: "General Cao's love, Li really doesn't dare to do it, how dare Li compare with Mr. Sun."

Cao Wenzhao was startled when he heard this, and thought: "You claim to dare not be compared with Mr. Sun, doesn't that mean you can be compared with Yuan Chonghuan and Hong Chengchou? Are you a bit conceited?"

Cao Wenzhao's thoughts naturally couldn't be hidden from Li Jing's eyes. Li Jing smiled and said: "General Cao, you and I are both soldiers, and we all know that a good fighter has no great achievements. Mr. Sun doesn't seem to have much success in leading the army. , but it was Mr. Sun's strategy that kept Liaodong stable for several years, allowing time to train troops like the Guanning Iron Cavalry."

After a pause, Li Jing said with a smile: "As for the so-called great victories that Governor Yuan achieved in Liaodong, almost all of them were based on the foundation laid by Mr. Sun."

Cao Wenzhao was silent for a while, then nodded slightly.

Li Jing smiled and continued: "As for Governor Hong, the battle was fought well, but it's a pity that Governor Hong killed too much. The bandits are just a group of peasants who can't eat. It is a last resort to gather people to rebel. Kill these people. What's the benefit? In fact, all you need to do is kill the leader, so I don't agree with Governor Hong's approach."

Cao Wenzhao smiled, disapproving of Li Jing's opinion.

When Cao Wenzhao fought against the bandits, he acted almost exactly the same as Hong Chengchou. Basically, he didn’t want to take prisoners. It’s not that they like to kill. In fact, they couldn’t deal with these people after they surrendered. There was no food to eat. To rebel, it is better to kill them once and for all.

Sighing lightly, Li Jing continued: "General Cao, you are just the general who leads the army in battle. You can't provide logistics and supplies, and you can't recruit prisoners. It is understandable to kill and surrender Li. But Governor Hong is different. He is in charge of military administration on three sides. But they still want to kill and surrender, which obviously puts government affairs behind military affairs, and doing so is obviously putting the cart before the horse."

Shaking his head, Li Jing sighed: "I don't believe that Governor Hong doesn't know why the bandits rebelled, and I don't believe that the bandits can be suppressed by killing them. To put down the bandits, you must first know why the bandits rebelled, and then find a way to solve this problem. fix it."

Cao Wenzhao sighed and said, "We don't know why the rogues rebelled. Isn't it because of years of severe drought, no food harvest, and tight taxation? The common people rebelled in desperation! But is there any way to solve this problem?" , we can't let God stop the drought, and we can't let the imperial court exempt the affected areas from taxation, as long as these two points can't be done, the common people will rebel if they should!"

Li Jing nodded slightly, Cao Wenzhao was still a sensible person, and he knew the reason for the bandits' rebellion.

Sighing, Li Jing said: "Natural disasters cannot be controlled by manpower, but manpower can reduce the losses caused by natural disasters. In this regard, Governor Hong has done really poorly."

Cao Wenzhao said suspiciously, "General Li please advise."

Li Jing smiled and said: "I don't dare to give advice, I just talk about Li's opinion. Dare I ask General Cao, when you led the army to encircle the bandits in Shaanxi, Gansu and other places, what did the soldiers drink when they were thirsty?"

Cao Wenzhao frowned, and said in displeasure, "Of course I drink water, can I still drink alcohol?"

Li Jing ignored Cao Wenzhao's displeasure, and continued with a smile: "Didn't it mean that there was a severe drought in Shaanxi, and the river was dry without any rain? May I ask the general where did you get the water?"

Seeing that Li Jing still asked him such a simple question, Cao Wenzhao thought for a while, knowing that Li Jing might have other meanings, and said immediately: "Shaanxi has been suffering from a long drought, not all rivers have dried up, and wells in other places can still produce water. Come."

Li Jingjing nodded and said: "Since some rivers have not completely dried up, and some places can still dig wells to produce water, may I ask General Cao, have the local officials in Shaanxi ever diverted water into the fields, and can they dig wells to get water for irrigation?"

Cao Wenzhao thought for a while, then shook his head slightly: "It seems that I have never done it before."

Li Jing then asked: "Governor Hong is the governor of the three sides. Why don't you do these things? During this drought, every mu of land can save a group of people, and if a group of people don't live, a group of people can be lost." Bandits, don't Hong Chengchou not know such a simple truth?"

Waving his hand, Li Jing stopped Cao Wenzhao's intention to defend Hong Chengchou, and continued: "Don't tell me that Governor Hong has no money or ability to do these things. At this critical moment, as long as the government mobilizes, the common people don't need money , will also do these things well. The officials of the key court are unwilling to do this, and even Hong Chengchou himself is unwilling to do this. "

Shaking his head, Li Jing sighed and said, "It's no wonder that the officials don't solve the livelihood of the common people, and the common people don't turn against them. As for the killing to quell the riots of the common people in the end, Li does not admire Governor Hong."

Cao Wenzhao heard it silently.

Li Jing smiled and continued: "General Cao, I know that you may not be convinced by saying this. I can tell you that there is also a drought in Henan. What did Li do at that time? Build embankments to store water, divert canals into the fields, and when irrigation is needed At that time, the gates were opened to release water. A reservoir can irrigate more than a thousand acres of land and feed tens of thousands of people. I might as well tell you that Li was still a bandit at that time."

Cao Wenzhao nodded lightly. Li Jing was born as a bandit, and he already knew it.

Shaking his head, Li Jing continued: "In addition, the southern region has imported several kinds of food crops that are resistant to drought and waterlogging from foreign countries. Li introduced them to plant in his jurisdiction, and the output is several times that of local crops. Such crops, the court and Why doesn’t the government vigorously promote it? As long as the imperial court and local government can consider the common people, they won’t fall into the current situation.”

Cao Wenzhao sighed softly and said, "This time General Li willingly risked his life to go to Henan to help the disaster. Cao really admires General Li. The emperor refuses to reuse talents like General Li, alas!"

Li Jing waved his hands and smiled, "Li doesn't care whether the emperor is important or not. Li only does what he should do. Li is very clear about General Cao's intention here. General Cao doesn't have to be embarrassed, he can check whatever he wants. , you can watch whatever you want.”

Picking up the teacup, Li Jing took a sip of the tea, and then said with a smile: "But Li really doesn't want General Cao to waste time, so Li can tell General Cao clearly that the roster that Li reported to the emperor this time is absolutely none. The slightest falsehood, as for the military pay is not the same. Li can also tell General Cao that the roster is true, but Li still has [-] soldiers that have not been reported. This is Li's bottom line. Who dares to move these soldiers? Someone wants to look good!"

Staring into Cao Wenzhao's eyes, Li Jing said solemnly: "General Cao, Li admires General Cao, but let me tell you the truth, if my five thousand troops are against you, no matter how many troops you have, you won't My opponent, but your subordinates are cavalry, if you escape on horseback, Li will definitely not be able to catch up."

Cao Wenzhao was silent when he heard that Li Dingguo once led a centurion to fight with him. Cao Wenzhao had seen the fighting power of this centurion with his own eyes. Facing such sharp weapons, he had no other choice but to escape on horseback.

Even if a 5000-man team is so powerful, then Li Jing's [-]-man army, as long as it can provide logistical support, may be as Li Jing said, no matter how many troops there are, it will not be his opponent.

Seeing that Cao Wenzhao was silent, Li Jing continued: "General Cao, you and I did not deal with each other once or twice, and you did not hide what Li did from you. You can tell in your conscience that it was Li who did a good job, or the court. well done."

Cao Wenzhao sighed lightly and said, "Compared with General Li, what the imperial court has done is really far behind."

Li Jingjing nodded seriously and said: "Li doesn't want to rebel, but he also doesn't want to be slaughtered."

Cao Wenzhao said with a smile: "A man should be like this, especially a person like General Li. If he is slaughtered by others, he may not be General Li."

Hearing this, Li Jingwen finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Cao Wenzhao agrees with him, there is a possibility of getting together with him.

Li Jing didn't want Cao Wenzhao to fall in the hands of Li Zicheng, let alone let Cao Wenzhao die in his own hands.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing continued: "General Cao, Li admires General Cao's character. One day, if you need Li to send troops in an embarrassing situation, Li will definitely accept it. If General Cao recognizes Li as a friend, something will happen. Don't forget to look for Mr. Li."

Cao Wenzhao nodded emphatically, and said: "General Li's words, Mr. Cao will keep in mind, if you have any difficulties in the future, ask General Li for help."

After thinking for a while, Cao Wenzhao suddenly smiled and said, "General Li, in fact, you don't need to send troops. You just need to support your brother with your weapons, and your confidence in fighting will be much stronger."

Hearing that Cao Wenzhao was begging for weapons from him, Li Jing smiled lightly. Although Cao Wenzhao's probing was just a joke, it revealed Cao Wenzhao's original intention.

From the conversation between the two until now, Li Jing has been constantly guiding Cao Wenzhao to lean towards his side, and now Cao Wenzhao has also begun to test the depth of Li Jing's sincerity.

(End of this chapter)