Chapter 883

Taking advantage of this unpleasant parting, He He Lingchuan took the opportunity to draw the boundaries of their respective rights and responsibilities. He had to let Wen Daolun know that some boundaries could not be crossed at will, and some wills could not be imposed on others.

Most importantly, he had read the history books of later generations and knew that Wen Daolun and Panlongcheng's strategy for dealing with the Longchuan water bandits was wrong!

The window of opportunity to reverse the unfavorable situation for Jade Balance City and the Longchuan trade route was too short.

The time left for He He Lingchuan was truly not much, but there were simply too many things he needed to handle; he had no leisure time to deal with these empty, pretentious matters.

Rather than slowly grinding out a compromise with Wen Daolun, it was better to let him quickly recognize the reality, so that they could each perform their own duties in the future and stay out of each other's way.

"Mr. Wen seems gentle, but he is actually stubborn," Sun Sun Fuling also said. "Indeed, you cannot easily move him."

"If their approach worked, why was Commander Xiao transferred away?" He He Lingchuan said indifferently, "Before I took over Jade Balance City, they worked hard for over half a year. Let alone eliminating the Longchuan bandit menace, they couldn't even distinguish which of those in the water marshes were bandits and which were civilians!"

"In the past, the Panlong Army was invincible in eliminating wasteland bandits. But wasteland bandits were poor bandits who hit the road with pitchforks to rob; as long as you gave them a way to survive, they wouldn't fight to the death. The Longchuan water bandits, however, are rich bandits who have been in this business for generations. You can't even tell if those water stockades in the marshes are villages or bandit dens. Just beheading the bandit leaders is useless; kill one today, and a pair will pop up tomorrow, just like a hydra. According to the methods of Commander Xiao and Mr. Wen, unless you raze the entire Longchuan to the ground and kill everyone, this banditry will never be eradicated."

As he spoke, he swished a piece of thinly sliced mutton in the pot, blew away the heat, and then placed it in Sun Sun Fuling's bowl: "Eat."

Sun Sun Fuling chewed delicately, and only after swallowing did she say: "Mr. Wen thinks that there is no need to be too anxious; after all, this is now the territory of Panlongcheng."

"He isn't anxious, but I am," He He Lingchuan thought to himself. I have seen the plot developments that follow; how can I let Jade Balance City walk into a dead end? Old Wen doesn't even know that I am saving him! According to the original history, Wen Daolun would die because of the bandit menace.

He He Lingchuan changing this segment of history was, in effect, saving his life.

"The Longchuan bandit menace is driven by Between Beijia behind the scenes. Sigh, if we are to compare consumption and persistence, who can outlast Between Beijia? But if we want to use force to forcibly eliminate them, the casualties of the Jade Balance City army would be too great, which would just fulfill the wishes of Fu Fu Shanlie and the Xi Ji puppet army," He He Lingchuan sighed deeply. "If the Great Wind Army were transferred to me, even if they only gave me half the troops, I could forcibly flatten Longchuan. It's a pity, reality is too harsh; all I can rely on is the Jade Balance Army."

His hope for the future was to train the Jade Balance Army into an invincible force, modeled after the standards of the Great Wind Army.

But the road ahead was still long.

Sun Sun Fuling asked: "Your current approach, are you trying to use water bandits to control water bandits and isolate Fu Fu Shanlie?"

"If they could live a peaceful life, who would be willing to lick blood off the edge of a blade?" He He Lingchuan said concisely, "As long as Qianjin Stockade and the Qiuhua Gang accept my proposal, other gangs will follow suit."

This is called the demonstration effect.

No matter how much he talks, the bandit gangs have to taste the sweetness themselves before they can work for Jade Balance City with peace of mind.

"From now on, we will only fight the Xi Ji puppet army. If they invade the road sections under the jurisdiction of other gangs, don't blame us for beating them up together with those other gangs."

Sun Sun Fuling took a sip of wine: "You went through so much trouble to beat these bandit gangs half to death, and now you are using road taxes to support them. Aren't you afraid that they will grow wings again and become road tyrants?"

This was Wen Daolun's doubt and dissatisfaction.

"If I beat them half to death, it will only benefit Fu Fu Shanlie," He He Lingchuan saw it clearly. "The more ruthlessly I suppress the bandits, the greater Fu Fu Shanlie's power becomes."

The greater the external pressure, the stronger the internal annexation in Longchuan; the game of big fish eating small fish would be staged every few days.

He had not forgotten the testimony Wu Wu Shaoyi obtained from the old water lizard over a hundred years later; it was precisely because Fu Fu Shanlie annexed the Longchuan water bandits and became an uncontrollable force that he caused so much trouble for Jade Balance City.

Since He He Lingchuan had intruded into this segment of history, he had to nip the trouble in the bud.

The successive water bandit attacks on the city that occurred in history did not happen; He He Lingchuan, as the Grand Commander, had already made a good start, and he needed to continuously expand this advantage.

"As for water bandits like those in Qianjin Stockade, it is precisely because they need fewer constraints that they can be allowed to play freely," He He Lingchuan restrained his smile. "In the final analysis, this is still amnesty; the bandits will sooner or later know that their immediate superior is no longer the gang leader or stockade master, but Jade Balance City!"

Sun Sun Fuling also picked up a piece of lamb spine and pouted: "It would be so good if you and Mr. Wen were also this frank."

He He Lingchuan smiled without a word.

It sounds simple, but where is the logic in one top leader being heart-to-heart with another top leader, or one top leader giving a work report to another?

Whoever does that is compromising with the other party.

Some words simply cannot be said due to status and position. Otherwise, why would Wen Daolun need to ask Sun Sun Fuling to act as a mediator? Sun Fuzi would also carefully consider these words before relaying them to Wen Daolun.

A little sauce stained the corner of her lips; He He Lingchuan raised his hand to wipe it off for her, and very naturally put it in his own mouth and gave it a little suck.

Sun Fuzi rolled her eyes at him, her pretty face looking even redder.

Panlongcheng, Gan Ge Hall.

Wen Daolun's urgent report was placed on the table, and the few people present had already read it.

Zhong Zhong Shengguang asked briefly: "How is it?"

Vice Prefect Zhao Zhao Xianhe shook his head: "A few small nests of water bandits, not only are they not being suppressed, but they can sit back and collect road taxes, and we even have to support them. What kind of logic is this?"

He had never heard of such an outrageous thing! How did that man surnamed He come up with it?

General General Nanke asked: "What does this profit-sharing mean?"

"Two-tenths of the road taxes collected by the water bandits are handed over to Jade Balance City. If the jurisdiction road section is safe and sound every half month, this money is returned to the water bandits," Zhao Zhao Xianhe explained. "At the same time, Jade Balance City has to take out extra money to subsidize them."

General General Nanke got angry as soon as he heard it: "Just giving them all the road taxes is outrageous enough; why should Jade Balance City also subsidize the water bandits? Isn't this just keeping them fat and happy? Hey, calculating it this way, how much money will Jade Balance City lose?"

"Wen Daolun has already calculated the accounts. If only Qianjin Stockade and the Qiuhua Gang are hired at present, it will probably require a subsidy of two thousand silver taels every three months; if the number of bandit gangs accepting amnesty exceeds thirteen, this figure will likely increase to over six thousand taels."

General General Nanke immediately said: "Then I object."

Zhong Zhong Shengguang pointed to the urgent report and said: "Wen Daolun also summarized He He Lingchuan's intentions; have you all read it?"

"Read it, isn't it just isolating Fu Fu Shanlie and launching an all-out attack on the Xi Ji puppet army?"

Zhao Zhao Xianhe pondered: "Over the past thirty years, Fu Fu Shanlie has risen to fame and shone brilliantly in Lingxu City, where there are many talented people. Since we know this person has sneaked into Longchuan, we indeed cannot take him lightly. But to say that he alone can stir up trouble in the old land of Xi Ji is an exaggeration."

(End of chapter)