Chapter 233: Sun Hongye

He Chunhua is a local chief official, and the Li family are commoners; although there are a few clan members serving as officials in the court, Li Rong himself has no position or title, so how can he beat the government on the surface?

Superintendent He is killing the chicken to warn the monkey, and all the big and small wealthy gentlemen in Dunyu and even Xiazhou are watching with wide eyes. "Before Li Rong went in, his sons came to handle it, donating 200,000 jin of corn flour and over 100,000 jin of sorghum flour to the government treasury." Sun Hongye laughed. "People like Li Rong can't endure hardship in the jail cell. Instead of bribing the bailiffs, it's better to go directly to Superintendent He."

"Li Shuang is not stupid either."

"Sure enough, before Li Rong moved in, the bailiffs did a big cleaning of the jail cell and sprayed medicine, reportedly killing more than thirty rats, and countless cockroaches and bedbugs." Li Rong occupied the largest place, closest to the door, with good ventilation and light, and the bedding was brand new.

"After Li Shuang donated another five hundred cotton clothes, three hundred pairs of cotton socks, and six hundred pairs of military boots, his father's meals changed from two meals a day to three, and there was wine to drink, and he was allowed to have the Li family send food."

He Lingchuan laughed, with Li Rong in hand, He Chunhua could be considered to have grasped this branch.

"The second major event follows the previous one. A total of sixty-six wealthy families, wealthy gentlemen, and merchants in Dunyu all came to send gifts." Sun Hongye raised his second finger. "Each gift list is very long, and these gift lists alone can fill a carriage."

Old Man He beat the Li family with heavy fists, and the wealthy gentlemen watching seemed to be frightened, sending gifts heavily. He Lingchuan's spirit lifted: "How much was collected?"

"Superintendent He returned them all, not accepting a single piece."

His face collapsed: "Not a single piece?"

"Not a single piece."

He Lingchuan was expressionless, knowing that the hope of raising the allowance was ruined. "These guys, they wouldn't be stupid enough to send nothing, right?"

"That wouldn't happen." Sun Hongye laughed. "It just so happened that the news of the Li family's sons having their gifts rejected and changing to donating materials spread, and these people suddenly realized, converting the original gifts into military supplies to donate to the government treasury, and then presenting the changed gift lists to your mansion. I have worked in the Censorate for several years, and this is the first time I have seen pickled pork and vermicelli written on gold-stamped gift lists. I heard that the wealthy gentlemen frantically swept up grain in Dunyu and nearby farms, causing the price of grain to rise by half a percent in just two days."

Calculating back and forth, in fact, grain is still the cheapest; one donation is more than 100,000 jin, with a large quantity and face.

"Sent to the front line?"

"Only after counting yesterday did Superintendent He send people to escort them." Sending gifts, no, it is donations, these are all fragmented materials, and even counting and auditing are laborious, but it is exactly what the front line needs right now.

He Lingchuan murmured: "These wealthy gentlemen are really, whatever they want, they have."

"The third major event follows the previous one. The government treasury counted materials in the past few days, with low efficiency, and the accounts made mistakes twice. Superintendent He was furious, demoting 30% of the old officials and clerks in the entire government office on the grounds of dereliction of duty, slackness, and incompetence, and leaving them for other uses. Such a big change has not been seen in fifteen years, shocking the entire Dunyu."

"The sky in Xiazhou has changed, they should get used to it early." He Lingchuan nodded. "No breaking, no establishing. Are they all filled with our own people?" As the head of a province, He Chunhua has the right to appoint and remove personnel and promote backbone.

"Mo Zhejingxuan, Zhao Qinghe, etc., and the nineteen people He Chunhua recruited from Shi Huan City, have all been arranged for positions." This set of personnel will be He Chunhua's basic team in the short term. "By the way, Superintendent He also wants to arrange for me to be the clerk of the Provincial Government, specializing in documents."

"Oh? The official position is not small." Father is even digging his people?

Sun Hongye shook his head: "I declined."

"Why?" He Lingchuan's expression moved slightly. "You have been idle with me for a long time, and there is no proper business to do."

"The one who had the discerning eye to recognize talent in Shi Huan was you." Sun Hongye said solemnly. "Therefore, I follow the Proprietor, not Superintendent He."

He Lingchuan clapped his hands and laughed: "Good, good!" Who doesn't like a loyal subordinate?

"Besides, I like to build from nothing, and I don't want to follow the steps in the government office."

Sure enough, this kid has a heart of ambition, not the character of punching in and out of work.

Sun Hongye

"What do you mean?"

"Two days ago, enemy traces were discovered near Wutu Town in the north. Once the news arrived, Magistrate He sent Zhao Qinghe and Wu Shaoyi to lead troops to attack them."

The first three pieces of news were not as explosive as this final one. He Lingchuan's heart sank: "The fighting has already started? How many men does the enemy have?"

"They say it's a Mobile Corps Commander unit; as for the number, Magistrate He hasn't announced it. Zhao and Wu's troops departed this morning." Sun Hongye sighed, "If you had come out of seclusion half a day earlier, this sweet assignment might have fallen to you." At least there would have been a share.

"Missed it, missed it, there will be another chance." He Lingchuan was quite easygoing about it. "It seems Father has already calculated how to fight this battle."

The first battle of He Chunhua's tenure carried great significance; victory was required, defeat was not an option.

"The advantage is with us," Sun Hongye analyzed. "The Xunzhou army broke through the south of Baichegang, merely tearing an opening in General Zhao Pan's front line. They will certainly try to find a way to capture one or two cities in that vicinity; they must consolidate before they can expand their gains. Looking at the location of Wutu Town, they have already penetrated more than one hundred and fifty li into the interior of Xiazhou. The number of that Xunzhou Mobile Corps Commander unit must be small, and they will only be a small raiding party; their main task is likely still intelligence gathering. As long as Wu and Zhao catch their tails, it won't be hard to defeat them."

No wonder Sun Hongye called this expedition a "sweet assignment." He Lingchuan smiled: "Exactly, when the news of victory is sent back, we should play it up well."

The main thing was that the news "Xunzhou troops have already killed their way to Wutu Town" was too terrifying. As long as He Chunhua defeated that army, his morale and prestige would see a huge boost.

Sun Hongye continued: "Magistrate He has only been in office for a few days; I'm afraid the news hasn't reached the Xunzhou people yet. They probably think Xiazhou is still as empty as before, so they sent a unit to harass us. Taking advantage of this window, we can also take action. If I haven't guessed wrong, Magistrate He will have major moves ahead."

Speaking of this, he changed the subject: "By the way, I must suggest one thing to you, Proprietor: you cannot be without men under your command."

He Lingchuan's gaze sharpened.

These words truly struck a chord with him.

"Go on."

"I have observed for a long time that you only have the appearance of wealth, but no men you can freely command." Sun Hongye's voice lowered unconsciously. "I have seen so many high officials and nobles; even an idle rich young master has his own team. You are destined for greatness in the future; wouldn't it be awkward to have no one to use?"

He Lingchuan's gaze flickered. That's right, and he didn't know the reason, but the original "He Lingchuan" had no confidants, only a group of unreliable fox friends and dog pals outside. Ever since he occupied this skin, the He family had been in a state of intense flux; it was either adventures or killing bandits, or long-distance migrations, and he had no time to recruit men.

He was always humble and eager to learn: "What ideas do you have?"

"Initially, men should be valued for quality, not quantity; we can scout them out slowly."

He Lingchuan nodded repeatedly; he couldn't afford to feed too many anyway. Currently, his monthly income was only one hundred and fifty silver taels. A monkey and a rock wolf could eat him into poverty, let alone a hundred big-bellied men. Since they were called confidants, wouldn't they have to draw their salaries from him? If he let his father pay, how could his men be loyal to him? "I think the sand bandit Mao Tao you brought from Heishuicheng is good; he is agile and capable, and has no entanglements with others; he can count as one." Sun Hongye calculated. "There are a few good hands in the support army, but they are ultimately your father's subordinates; it is not appropriate to pull them into your personal guard."

"You mean, choose from the locals of Dunyu?"

"The Proprietor is wise." Sun Hongye felt once again that this Young Master He actually understood things at a single hint, far from being as reckless as he appeared. "A few days ago, the Li and Zhan families fought; I saw two people in the Li family's private army who were quite good."

"Oh?" He Lingchuan found it amusing. "Where was your attention focused?" When Li and Zhan fought, others watched the fun, but Sun Hongye was paying attention to the people.

"One of these two is called Jiao Tai, and the other is called Shan Youjun. I saw their skills were quite good; one is agile, the other is strong. In the Zhan mansion, they were more than enough to take on six or seven people alone. What is commendable is that they even blocked a few knives for their companions and were not afraid of being wounded."

When he said this, He Lingchuan gave a long "Oh": "You're talking about those two! I have an impression."

He was also at the scene and indeed saw two men beating the Zhan mansion's guards as if it were child's play. Their methods were orderly, and they knew how much force to use, unlike the other private soldiers of the Li mansion who were ruffians and thugs recruited from the streets.

"I inquired privately; they used to be scouts at the border and were also very capable in the Li mansion's private army. Others didn't want to provoke them, but they didn't get along with the leader. This time, when the wife of the Fourth Master Zhan died along with her unborn child, it was framed on this unlucky guy Jiao Tai, saying he pushed the pregnant woman into the rockery."

Scapegoats and the like—He Lingchuan was most interested in that. "They've already been whipped, right?"

"They have. On the very day Magistrate He arrived in Dunyu, they were whipped ten times in public at the government office." Sun Hongye had investigated clearly. "After the Fourth Master Zhan complained to Magistrate He, the Li mansion sent Jiao Tai to the government office, and he is now in the holding cell awaiting trial."

He shrugged: "Li Zhi and Li Rong will likely not suffer any physical pain, but this Jiao Tai has only a dead end; it's useless even if he screams his throat raw in the holding cell."

He Lingchuan rubbed his hands: "Excellent. Then leave this matter to you. Give him justice, and give me two good men."

"Yes."

Sun Hongye smiled and took his leave. He Lingchuan had adopted his suggestion; he was beginning to have a place to put his talents to use.

He Lingchuan was also in a very good mood. Sun Hongye suggesting these two to him meant he was confident he could recruit them.

This kid was right; it was time for him to have his own wings.

He had just sent Sun Hongye out to the main gate and was about to turn back when he saw two people walking around the corner of the street, pacing and chatting—wasn't it the father and son, He Chunhua and He Yue?

(End of chapter)