Chapter 363: Be grateful and repay the kindness!

After all, when Posuo Prefecture was first settled, the ground was not peaceful and it was very poor. Fengshan County was a wealthy county in Dongning Prefecture. As the county magistrate, Ma Runchuan lived very comfortably in Fengshan. There was no need for him to go to Posuo Prefecture to suffer...
But until some time ago, Song Wenhui was defeated and the Zhenwu Army took control of Dongning Prefecture. Fengshan County was Ye Mingsheng's hometown, so he paid special attention to the situation in Fengshan. So he got the news from Ma Runchuan, and Ma Runchuan took the initiative to surrender to the Zhenwu Army.

But because the Zhenwu Army had accepted a large number of surrendered soldiers from the Liaoyang Army and wanted them to turn against Song Wenhui, they needed a large amount of money to win over the hearts of the people.

But at that time, the Zhenwu Army itself was penniless and all its money had been spent on the war, so they had no choice but to rob, and their target was the gentry group that originally supported Song Wenhui.

Therefore, the Zhenwu Army directly ignored Ma Runchuan's request for surrender. Not only did they dismiss Ma Runchuan from his post as county magistrate, they also wanted to try Ma Runchuan. Later, it was because Ma Runchuan used a lot of connections to save his life.

Although his life was saved, Ma Runchuan also spent all his family wealth in order to stay alive, and the house he lived in was not taken away by anyone.

During the years that Ma Runchuan was in charge of Fengshan, he led the people to build bridges and roads, reclaim wasteland, and ensured basic judicial fairness, with murderers paying with their lives and injuring others going to jail. He did some practical and good things.

However, his personal life was also very decadent. He had concubines and mistresses and more than a dozen children. Without money, the life of this family was very miserable.

When Ye Mingsheng first learned about Ma Runchuan's miserable condition, he honestly did not feel any gloating. He was not such a boring person...

Although it is not that boring, it does not mean that Ye Mingsheng is a particularly generous person.

When you were doing well, I invited you twice but you didn't come!
Now that you're down and out, do you remember me? Do you want to follow me?

Am I your backup?
Feeling the anger in Ye Mingsheng's words, Gu Sansi felt very bitter in his heart. When he learned what happened from Ma Runchuan a few days ago, he knew that with Ye Mingsheng's personality, things would be difficult to handle.

But now hearing Ye Mingsheng's tone, it seemed that things were more difficult than he had imagined. This made him even more anxious as he thought about how to persuade Ye Mingsheng to accept Ma Runchuan again.

One of Ma Runchuan's great advantages is that he is very smooth and has good interpersonal relationships with everyone. Back then, he and Ma Runchuan studied together under the great Confucian scholar Wang Zhi. At that time, Gu Sansi was young and successful, and he didn't know how to restrain himself. He was a little arrogant and didn't have a very good relationship with other classmates, but he could talk to Ma Runchuan well and they had a harmonious relationship.

Later, because his foreign ancestry was exposed, he was excluded from the officialdom and fell from grace. He was unemployed at home, feeling that his talent was not appreciated, and was unhappy. When his life was very difficult, it was only with the help of his classmate Ma Runchuan, who was the magistrate of Fengshan at the time, that the family could survive...

Later, because of Ma Runchun's recommendation, he had the opportunity to work under Ye Mingsheng and got the chance to display his talents.

Therefore, Ma Runchuan’s kindness to Gu Sansi can be said to be as great as the sky!
Gu Sansi is not the kind of person who is ungrateful. Now that Ma Runchuan is in trouble and has come to him for help, he naturally will not stand idly by!
Otherwise, given Gu Sansi's consistent style of keeping himself clean in front of Ye Mingsheng, he would definitely not jump out to speak for Ma Runchuan and offend Ye Mingsheng when he knew that Ye Mingsheng disliked Ma Runchuan.

"Sir, Senior Brother Ma is not only very kind to me, but also very useful to you!" Gu Sansi was a man of quick wit. After thinking carefully, he came up with an idea and advised Ye Mingsheng:
Ye Mingsheng remained silent after hearing this. He knew that Ma Runchuan was capable, but the problem was that there were too many capable people...

Why should he use a two-faced Ma Runchuan? Seeing this, Gu Sansi continued to persuade:

"Sir, my Senior Brother Ma is a bit of a fence-sitter, but he has one good thing, which is that he has good interpersonal relationships!"

"Senior Brother Ma has many friends in the government. The Zhenwu Army wanted to chop off his head this time, but he was so active that many people came forward to save him. Therefore, the Zhenwu Army had no choice but to let him go!"

"Brother Ma wants to join our Fengzhou Army this time because he hates the Zhenwu Army so much! So his belief in our Fengzhou Army is also very firm!"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but snort contemptuously. To put it bluntly, isn't this just using the Fengzhou Army to take revenge on the Zhenwu Army?

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's disdainful attitude, Gu Sansi was a little embarrassed, but he continued:
"Sir, have you ever thought about the next question?"

"You are cooperating with the Cui family now. If you lose in the end, then there is nothing to say. But what if we defeat the Zhenwu Army and take control of Liaoyang?"

"Sir, your foundation is in the army, and your foundation in the officialdom is very weak. In order to maintain the stability of Liaoyang, you must rely on the Cui family, but are you willing to do so?"

"And the best way to deal with the Cui family is to support your own forces in the officialdom and gradually replace them. Senior Brother Ma has a wide range of friends in the officialdom and can talk to anyone. With his help, you can support your own forces in the officialdom and achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

"In addition, after learning from this lesson, I believe that Senior Brother Ma will be grateful for your kindness, cherish this hard-won opportunity, and serve you honestly!"

After listening to Gu Sansi's words, Ye Mingsheng fell into silence. Although he still didn't like Ma Runchuan, he had to admit that he was somewhat shaken by Gu Sansi's words.

Although it feels good emotionally to not use Ma Runchuan, as a person in a high position, a politician, sometimes you can't be too emotional. You need to make the choice that is most beneficial to yourself··············
Seeing Ye Mingsheng was silent, Gu Sansi suddenly felt hopeful. He knew that Ye Mingsheng was very wary of the Cui family and other aristocratic families. If he used them to make things happen, he would have a chance. He struck while the iron was hot and bowed deeply to Ye Mingsheng again, saying earnestly:
"Brother Ma has been very kind to me, and I have always wanted to find an opportunity to repay him for his kindness!"

"Sir, I have never asked you for anything during this time of following you. Can you please give Brother Ma a chance for my sake this time?"

Seeing that his chief strategist had said so much, Ye Mingsheng felt that if he refused, it would be too hurtful. After hesitating for a moment, he said helplessly:

"Well, considering his affection for you, let him go to Posuo Prefecture and find a county to be a small chief clerk!"

Although with Ma Runchuan's talent and resume, being a small clerk was not only a waste of talent but also a demotion, but Gu Sansi knew very well that it was very difficult for Ye Mingsheng to give in at this time, and he immediately thanked Ye Mingsheng profusely.

(Today I updated 4,500 words, please praise meヾ(｀。ヾ))
(End of this chapter)