Landlord of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 141: Entering the Grassland for the First Time (2)

The sky was gloomy, and Liu Mo was dealing with trivial matters in the official residence, when suddenly footsteps came from far to near:

"Lord Liu, what a great event~"

Liu Mo raised his head and looked at the person. He knew that the person who delivered the letter to Xu Qing had returned, and asked in a low voice, "Oh? What did the kid say?"

"Master Liu, the boy said that after three days, if the salt is not collected, he will resign on his own initiative!"

"Three days! Are you sure you heard it right?" Liu Mo suddenly stood up and said, "How is that possible!"

"Isn't this just right? Master Liu, I think that kid doesn't want to be an official..."

Liu Mo's face was cloudy and uncertain, and it took him a long time to spit out a sentence: "Why don't you want to be an official, I think that Governor Xu is trying to trap me into injustice~"

"This……"

"To gather [-] jin of salt in three days, can manpower do it? That kid makes this oath to let everyone in the officialdom see that I'm persecuting him, and that I'm being wronged." Liu Mo guessed.It's no wonder that Liu Mo can guess [-] kinds of tricks that Xu Qing can use, but he can't guess that Xu Qing can gather [-] catties of salt.

"That kid is so deceitful, why?"

"Young man, smart is smart, but still lacks sophistication..." Liu Mo stroked his long beard and smiled: "His plan is just to win sympathy based on the fact that manpower cannot do it, and force it on him." Forget it, what if I don't force him, but intercede for him instead?"

"Oh? If this delays the military period..."

But Liu Mo said without hesitation: "It's better if you missed your military term. When the time comes, put the blame on him and let Liu Zan deal with him. I'll also have a reputation for caring for my subordinates..."

"Dong Weng's wonderful plan..." Gouzi knew that his master had made up his mind, so he naturally wanted to flatter him.Whether this plan is good or bad, no one knows.

One day passed, and two days passed, when Liu Mo was about to write a letter to comfort Xu Qing, the servant came to report:
"Inspector Xu personally escorted [-] catties of salt, and it's already thirty miles away!"

Liu Mo was shocked when he heard this, thinking that there was something wrong with his ears, and after repeated questioning, he was sure that Xu Qing had really come here with [-] catties of salt.

But he still couldn't figure it out, how did Xu Qing conjure up this ten thousand catties of salt!

purchase?Where does so much money come from?Could it be that Xu Qing robbed all of the Cangzhou Salt Shop?You can't grab so many!
From Cangzhou to here, it takes a day or two to walk, and now Xu Qing is thirty miles away with salt, that is to say, Xu Qing prepared the salt in one day...

Could it be that this Governor Xu really has a magic trick?
Impossible, could it be... Haiyan, yes!Must be sea salt!To be able to collect such a large amount of salt, it must be sea salt.This Governor Xu is playing around the edges, and wants to shoddy!That's the only way to explain it...

"Hey, [-] catties of salt, the quality is not good, but you have to pay for it..." Liu Mo secretly said.

At the usual price, ten catties of sea salt is not worth half a catty of white salt.With such a discount, Xu Qing's [-] jin of white salt has shrunk to [-] jin. It depends on how he explains.

After waiting for several hours, Xu Qing and his entourage arrived in the outer suburbs of Guoguo. Liu Mo listened to the words of the young man, straightened his clothes, and brought his subordinates to meet Xu Qing as if he was a loyal elder who was about to mention something to his younger generation.

So why did Xu Qing come in person?He wants to go to the grassland for a stroll...

It only takes half a month to go to Youzhou from Cangzhou, go half a month, return half a month, stay half a month, and return to Cangzhou before the New Year.

He wrote a secret memorial and sent it to Chang'an, and he and Li Yuan calculated the first batch of salt, and they settled the account.

Moreover, he personally escorted the salt, and he was not afraid of being intercepted by officials along the way. He was able to send all of them to the front line, which was considered responsible to the front line soldiers.

At the end of autumn, when the cattle and sheep are fat, they can trade with people outside the Great Wall and return more than a thousand cattle and sheep.

After going out for so long, Xu Qing didn't worry about his family, so he arranged all around Cangzhou City with cattle and grass to protect Xun Xueer and others.Xun Xueer was worried about Xu Qing, so she asked Huang Shimei to go with Xu Qing...

One day to prepare, the next day to go.Hundreds of carts, co-authored to escort the troops, a total of 2000 people, and a long woolen yarn.

Traveling to Hejian, which is the temporary Hebei General Administration Office, Xu Qing sent someone to report to Liu Mo, saying that he wanted to exchange documents.

Liu Mo didn't need to go out to meet Xu Qing, but he was so surprised that he forgot about it for a while, and stood outside Hejian City with a group of officials from the general manager's mansion.After realizing it, I was already in a dilemma.Fortunately, Xu Qing came faster.

Only five hundred civilians were left to escort, and thousands of guards were stationed far away, without showing their faces.Xu Qing saw Liu Mo and the others from a distance, took the lead, and walked to the edge of Hejian City.For this Liu Mo, Xu Qing is not too cold, [-] catties of salt can be allotted to him, and with Liu Zan's hint, what kind of good bird can Liu Mo be in Xu Qing's heart?
"Xu Qing, my subordinate, delivered [-] catties of salt as ordered..." Xu Qing dismounted from his horse, bowed his hands to the leading official, but did not salute.

"Bold, when you see a superior, how can you not bow down?" An official who was traveling with Liu Mo pointed at Xu Qing and shouted.

Xu Qing cast a glance at that person, and secretly moved him to the blacklist.Liu Mo is only from the fourth rank, and Xu Qing is also from the fourth rank. Liu Mo is a senior official, but he is only one level older than Xu Qing.In the officialdom, the first rank is considered great, and the first rank is really not.Besides, Xu Qing is still the county magistrate of the founding country, so what kind of thing is this Liu Mo?
Xu Qing then said straightforwardly: "I am the county magistrate of the founding country, I am afraid that you will not be able to bear my visit?"

"You..." After hearing that, the man couldn't refute, he was more honorable than a noble or an official.

"Okay, Governor Xu has solved a big problem for his own way, so don't make things difficult for him..." Liu Mo spoke with no sign of a good or bad mood.But Xu Qing could hear the meaning of his words: this Xu Qing doesn't understand etiquette, so he doesn't worship what should be done, because of his hard work, don't worry about the details.Everyone, if you want to embarrass him, hit him seven inches in the vitals!

Sure enough, someone understood and said to Xu Qing: "Inspector Xu prepares tens of thousands of catties of salt a day, I admire that, but this salt also has good and bad salt, governor Xu, be careful that the people below are shoddy..."

Liu Mo looked at the person who made the sound calmly, and nodded.Hitting one's own children and other people's dogs is an official trick.

"May I ask what kind of salt is good and what kind of salt is bad?"

"Double water and two salts, those who do not see the sand can..."

With this condition, can Xu Qing be obtained?Xu Qing laughed loudly and said, "Hahaha, what do Master Liu think?"

"I agree..." Liu Mo also nodded, the army eats salt, as long as there is no mud and sand.

"Okay, please look over!" Xu Qing stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation.

Liu Mo was shocked again, this sea salt is not clean, Xu Qing can have such confidence, is it just pretending, or is it true?

The truth is about to be revealed...

Salt, snow-white salt, even though only one package has been opened, the reflected light is also dazzling... If someone still says that the quality of this salt is not good, I'm afraid there will be a bolt from the blue.

Liu Mo was dizzy for a while, and thought to himself, this is the fear of young people.He said to Xu Qing: "Inspector Xu is really amazing, I don't know if this old man can help Inspector Xu a little bit?"

"Master Liu is too well-respected, and I'm just asking for a paper to pass the customs."

"Okay, okay, handle it right away..." Liu Mo came back to his senses, and suddenly remembered that he could keep half of the ten thousand catties of white salt, so he couldn't help but turn his grief into joy: "Come on, go and take over the salt. Inspector Xu prepares a table of good wine!"

"No, no, Mr. Liu, I need to personally escort this batch of salt to Youzhou..."

"What?" Liu Mo's face darkened when he heard that.

Xu Qing refused to give in, and emphasized: "I said, I will personally escort this batch of salt..."

After Xu Qing finished speaking, an official jumped out immediately and said to Xu Qing: "No, as Governor Xu is the head of one party, how can he easily travel far?"

Xu Qing chuckled softly: "Hehe...then dare I ask if there are still some soldiers in the Hejian garrison who can be dispatched? If such a huge amount of salt is snatched by bandits, will everyone present be able to keep their black hats? "

But Liu Mo waved his hand and shouted: "Nonsense, the whole territory of southern Hebei is clean and bright, and the folk customs are simple, so there are no bandits! Besides, we don't have soldiers. Could it be that Xu Shishi can take out soldiers in his hands?"

Xu Qing laughed secretly, the bandits in Cangzhou were so powerful, could it be that other counties are clean?It's obviously a mess, but it still needs to be covered with a fig leaf.Xu Qing stretched out a finger:
"Not much, the thousand-horse infantry is three miles away..."

"It's just nonsense! Ten soldiers leaving the country is tantamount to rebellion!"

This is indeed the case in the military discipline of the Tang Dynasty. The mobilization of government soldiers requires the tiger charm sent by the central government, while state soldiers need the authorization of a general manager. Xu Qing needs this document.

"Isn't this the time to ask for the paperwork from you, the deputy director..."

"I won't give it to you!"

"If you don't give it, I won't give it. I will go to Youzhou first and ask Chief Manager Liu for a piece of paper. If the matter is urgent, the court blames me, so I will push it to Mr. Liu..." Xu Qing said that you love to give No, I'm going anyway.

In Liu Mo's eyes, it was just a stinky face, and he said angrily: "Come here, this person mobilized soldiers privately to become a rebel, arrest this rebel!"

Following Liu Mo's gang of yamen servants, Xu Qing was about to be arrested.Xu Qing took a step back and said calmly:
"Master Liu, are you sure?"

At this moment, the men who transported salt behind him suddenly let out a fierce breath. These hundreds of men were actually veterans who were injured and retired from the battlefield!

The two sides confronted each other, and it seemed that they were about to fight.If there is a fight, it will be a big joke.An official rushed out to be a good person and persuade both sides. Although Liu Mo was angry, he knew the seriousness of the matter, and said to Xu Qing:

"Do you have to go?"

"I have to go..."

Liangliang's muscles are easy to talk, and in less than a stick of incense, Liu Mo wrote the document, stamped it with the official seal, and sent it to Xu Qing.Xu Qing took a look and saw that there was nothing wrong with it, so he praised Liu Mo's good handwriting, and led his men out of Hejian, leaving behind a group of Hejian officials who were aggrieved but helpless.

"Hmph, look at how the sky has turned upside down in Cangzhou after you came back..." Liu Mo looked at the back of Xu Qing's motorcade, unable to see what he was thinking.

(End of this chapter)