Chapter 1100: The 'Lost and Found' Birthday Gift

late July.

The governor of Jeju exploded on the spot after receiving the "ransom bill" from the Liangshan bandits:

"Ordinary soldiers 30 strings of cash, armored soldiers 60 strings of cash, cavalry 100 strings of cash..."

"This Liangshan bandit is either mad or crazy!"

Liang Zhongshu's mansion's Yu Hou, who was waiting for news at the government office, also laughed angrily after reading the "bill":

"If you are not a lunatic, how dare you rob the birthday gift sent to Grand Tutor Yu?"

After a while.

Seeing that the governor of Jeju Prefecture was frowning, Yu Hou could not help but remind him:
"Sir Governor, He Tao is nothing but a coward. Please continue to send people to suppress the bandits!"

"Natural, natural!"

The governor of Jizhou knew that if he did not recover the birthday gift of 100,000, his life and property would be in danger, so he did not dare to be negligent and quickly sent someone to call the militia commander Huang An.

He Tao’s previous official position was the Sandu Arresting Envoy, a position similar to that of the Jeju Director.

Huang An, the commander of the militia, had a status similar to that of the armed police commander.

Unlike He Qing who could only muster 800 soldiers, Huang An, as the commander of the Jeju militia, should have 5,000 soldiers under his command.

Of course, with everyone having to draw empty salaries, Huang An only had two thousand soldiers under his command.

When Huang An heard that the governor of Jeju was going to send him to attack the Liangshan bandits, he fell off his horse and broke his leg on his way to the government office to receive the order.

The news reached the governor of Jeju, who was so angry that he smashed a lot of precious porcelain on the spot:

"They are all a bunch of wimps!"

Seeing that his generals were so cowardly, the governor of Jeju could only send someone to find the Jeju Military Commander.

This military commander is similar to a military sub-district commander, and he should have at least 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers under his command.

Unfortunately, Jeju Prefecture had not seen war for a long time, and the military commander's subordinates had even more serious problems with empty pay. He had only two to three thousand men under his command, and most of them were old, weak, sick and disabled.

When the military commander arrived at the yamen and learned that the prefect wanted to send him to encircle and suppress the Liangshan bandits, his face immediately changed and he was about to refuse.

But before he could open his mouth, he saw that the governor of Jeju had a gloomy face, a black forehead, and a fierce look in his eyes. He didn't dare to say no.

However, he would never dare to lead troops to Liangshan.

After hesitating for a long time, the military commander coughed lightly and said with a flattering smile:
"Sir Governor, the Liangshan bandits are hiding in the 800-li water. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack for the cavalry and infantry under my command who cannot swim. It is really impossible to find them!"

When the governor of Jeju heard the military commander speak of his difficulties, he knew that it was the truth and could only calm down and ask:
"Then what plan do you have to eliminate the bandits?"

"I have three strategies here!"

The military commander imitated the military advisor in the opera, stroked his stubble with his hand, and said:
"The best strategy is to report the truth to the Grand Tutor and ask him to send a navy to assist. Once the navy arrives, the Liangshan bandits will be trapped in a jar and we can control them!"

After hearing this, the governor of Jeju City agreed very much.

However, when he looked at the Liang Mansion's Yu Hou who had been listening, and saw that he had no reaction, he could only let the Military Commander continue to talk about the other two plans.

Seeing this, the military commander could only say helplessly:

"The middle strategy is for us to select soldiers who are good at swimming and train them. It will take at least a year or two, or at least three to five months, to see some results!"

This time, the governor of Jeju directly shook his head and said:
"The Grand Master has issued an order that only gives us half a month to wipe out the bandits and take back the birthday gift before the end of the month. We don't have time to train soldiers at all. You should talk about the worst plan!"

The soldiers and horses heard that the Grand Tutor's Mansion only gave them half a month, so they could only sigh and say:

"Since the first two strategies don't work, we can only... fill this deficit first..."

"Hmm? Great!"

The eyes of the governor of Jeju Prefecture lit up instantly, and he said happily to the Liang Prefecture Yu Hou:

"Sir, what do you think of the chief eunuch's plan? Why don't I first help the secretary to make up for the birthday gift, and then we can discuss the matter of eliminating the bandits later, how do you think?"

"Then let's do it!"

Liang Mansion's Yu Hou showed a hint of unhappiness on the surface, but he was actually almost overjoyed in his heart.

You know, Xie Duguan and the two Liangfu guards who were escorting the birthday gift concealed a truth:
That is, as soon as the 100,000 birthday gift left Daming Prefecture, it was stolen by someone using a subterfuge.

What the Liangshan bandits robbed were only a few dozen boxes of stones.

If the Jizhou Prefecture really wiped out the Liangshan bandits but failed to find the birthday gift, after learning the truth, the Liang Prefecture's Yu Hou and Xie Duguan would both be held responsible.

Now, the governor of Jeju Prefecture volunteered to help fill the deficit, and naturally everyone was happy. The three of them discussed and made an agreement.

The governor of Jeju first reported to his superiors and asked for support.

The reason for requesting support was, as the Military Commander had said, that the Liangshan bandits were hiding in the 800-li watershed and needed the assistance of the navy.

In order to increase credibility, the governor of Jeju also reported that Jeju Prefecture sent 2,000 soldiers who were not good at swimming to suppress the bandits, but they encountered strong winds and all the soldiers were wiped out.

When this document requesting assistance was submitted, the Jeju Prefecture directly deducted the unpaid salaries of 1,200 people and also demanded pensions for 2,000 soldiers.

After all these operations, although the governor of Jeju suffered some reputation, he also made a profit of no less than 30,000 strings of cash.

As for the imperial navy, it is temporarily unable to come and suppress the bandits, so it has nothing to do with Jeju Prefecture.

Anyway, the governor of Jeju took the 30,000 strings of silver he earned and added another 30,000 strings of silver, making a total of 60,000 strings of silver.

The Bingma Dujian and Tuanlian Shi Huang An each took 20,000 strings of cash, and collected a 100,000-string birthday gift, which they handed over to the Liang Mansion Yu Hou to be delivered to the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

Cai Jing did not continue to embarrass the governor of Jeju Prefecture for the sake of the birthday gift that was "lost and recovered".

Just like that, Jeju Prefecture's plan to wipe out the Liangshan bandits came to nothing.

Of course, this is the official news.

When the news came out that Jeju Prefecture had sent 2,000 soldiers to fight but was completely wiped out, the entire prefecture was in an uproar.

The families of the captives cried for their parents, but they had no choice but to accept their fate.

After all, sending troops to fight a war means life and death.

However, ordinary captive families did not know the truth, but He Tao's wife, He Wang, learned the truth through her husband's old connections.

He Wangshi was also unwilling to give up her man.

When she learned that her husband's ransom would require one thousand two taels of silver, she sold her property and scraped together some money.

end of July.

He Wangshi gave the 1,220 taels of silver she had collected to her brother-in-law He Qing, and asked He Qing to take the money to Liangshan and redeem He Tao.

After He Tao was redeemed, he became a "hooligan" without an identity.

In this situation, he had no choice but to leave Jeju with his wife and find another way to make a living.

In the following half month.

Liangshan had been keeping an eye on the government's movements, and when they noticed that the Jeju government had not taken any action, they gradually let down their guard.

It seemed that the matter of the birthday gift had really come to an end.

In late August, after an autumn rain, the weather turned cooler.

Su Mingzhe found Qiao Lie and entrusted the affairs of the mountain stronghold to him, while he prepared to go to Cangzhou to see if he could persuade Lin Chong to come and join him.

Just do it.

That day, he asked Sanlian to help him pack his luggage.

Pan Jinlian and Bai Yulian both went to pack the man's clothes and utensils obediently, but Jin Cuilian came to the man with a worried look on her face:

"My lord, the road to Cangzhou is long, the mountains are high and the water is long. You must take care of yourself! Don't drink cold water, eat raw food, and add clothes in time..."

Jin Cui Lian used to be the concubine of Mr. Zhao, but Mr. Zhao died because he went on a long journey.

Jin Cui Lian doesn't want to be a widow again.

Seeing this, Pan Jinlian and Bai Yulian also leaned over and said heartwarming words.

Su Mingzhe was pleased to see the three girls being well behaved, and couldn't help but said with a smile:

"Don't worry, my beauty. I have always been strong and healthy. Don't you know that?"

After hearing this, the three girls blushed with shame.

In the nearly two months they had been together, even if the three women joined forces, they would still be defeated by the men.

If one of the sisters is unwell, the remaining two women will have to fend for themselves at night.

Seeing the three girls' shy and timid appearance, Su Mingzhe couldn't help but feel excited:
"My dear, have you packed your luggage?"

(End of this chapter)