Troubled Times: Start with 800 Dead Soldiers

In the large restaurant opened by "Zhu Gui" in Hanlu.

At the elegant wine table, in addition to the prefect Zhou Bin, Su Xia, and other major military and political officials of the Dengzhou Guard were sitting around.

The prefect Zhou Bin sat at the main seat of the banquet and looked at an unfamiliar face sitting beside him.

"Master Su, this is the Ling Zhen you have been thinking of recruiting for a long time!"

I saw the strange man's maroon face and heard the prefect mentioning him.

He quickly stood up and said, "My lord, I am the new deputy general of Pinghai Navy, who is responsible for artillery operations."

Zhou Bin nodded, smiled and motioned for him to sit down, and then said:

"Everyone here is quite familiar. I have met Vice General Li Dong a few times in the past, and I have also met Vice General Xiong Zhizhai. This is your first time! So I guess you are Ling Zhen."

After Zhou Bin finished speaking, the people at the wine table nodded frequently, and there was a sound of peace and joy.

Su Xia first praised: "My lord, you really have good eyesight. This person is indeed Ling Zhen, the new deputy general of our navy."

Everyone toasted and exchanged glasses, and drank and drank together, as if they were in a state of joy.

However, Su Xia couldn't feel happy, and he felt a little heavy.

It's not because Lu Zhishen beat up Zhang Ence last time. Recently, he has repeatedly received secret reports that he has placed inside the state government office.

Secret reports show that officials from the Department of Salt and Iron (in charge of commercial taxation, salt, tea, iron, and labor), the Du Branch Department (in charge of money, silk, and food science); the Department of Household Affairs and other government officials reported themselves to the prefect of Dengzhou Wei Zhou Bin many times. The situation on Salman Island.

The content of these reports pointed out that Su Xia's Salmon Island handled a huge amount of cargo and had an abnormal flow of people. In particular, the chief of the Salt and Iron Department actually asked the state government to go to the island for inspection in a petition to Zhou Bin!

Therefore, Su Xia felt a little heavy.

His mind was agitated by these things. The prefect Zhou Bin raised his glass first:

"Everyone, I, Zhou Bin, have been here as the magistrate of Dengzhou Guard for three years. Although I can't be considered a leader in politics and people, I can't be considered without any achievements!"

As soon as Zhou Bin opened his mouth, the subordinates said one after another: "Your Excellency is too humble. The three years you have been here to guard Dengzhou have been a blessing to the people of Dengzhou."

"Yes, what you have done can be learned from history!"

"You have lived up to the high hopes of your Majesty and the common people. You are a model for our generation to learn from."

.......

This rainbow fart made the prefect Zhou Bin a little irritable.

He changed the subject: "My lords, in our Dengzhouwei waters, thieves have been rampant recently, especially the Japanese pirates and the water bandits entrenched on the small islands, which makes me uneasy!

Also, the birthday package worth 10 taels of silver given to Master Cai by the Qingzhou Prefecture was robbed, and nothing has been found so far!

This is in Qingzhou Prefecture. You know the relationship between Qingzhou Zhizhou and Cai Taishi. If this matter were in Dengzhou, I, the Zhizhou, might end up doing it! "

After Zhou Bin said this, he slammed the wine bottle so hard that the other officials at the table did not dare to say anything.

The prefect Zhou Bin is usually very well-educated and rarely gets angry.

At this moment, he suddenly lost his temper and the atmosphere suddenly became serious. These officials all looked at each other and were at a loss.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhou Bin continued:

"Tell me, whose strength can we rely on to destroy the pirates now?"

Most of these officials at the banquet table were fellow countrymen of Zhang Ence, the regiment commander, or colleagues who had formed a clique for many years, so they naturally spoke for Zhang Ence.

An official in charge of salt and iron transportation whispered: "Sir, in my humble opinion, Zhang Tuanlian's soldiers can fight!"

"Can we fight? As far as I know, he has been defeated repeatedly!"

Zhou Bin said, Su Xia couldn't help straightening her chest. The officials at the same table looked at Su Xia and immediately understood what Zhou Bin meant. The meaning was very obvious - the Ping Haijun led by Su Xia is the strength that I, Zhou Bin, rely on. You don't want to Looking for trouble.

Seeing that the prefect Zhou Bin was obviously speaking for Su Xia, they all remained silent.

On the other hand, Hu Cao and Fa Cao said without knowing what was good or bad, and whether life or death was an issue:

"Your Excellency, the regimental training commander Zhang has made many military exploits over the years. He is excellent in martial arts and diligent in political affairs. We have no reason not to trust Mr. Zhang's soldiers!"

After hearing this, Zhou Bin looked angry:

"Yesterday I went to Zhang Tuanlian's home. He was on the bed where he was recovering from his injuries. I saw a woman's tube top! A silk tube top! Is this diligent in political affairs? Is this the kind of martial arts that is so good? How can such a regiment training commander lead soldiers? Fight, how to fight?”

As Zhou Bin said this, he slammed the table as if he was angry!

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the audience fell silent.

Just now, the two officials Hu Cao and Fa Cao were trembling with fear and did not dare to say another word!

After a long time, Zhou Bin glanced at the many officials and said:

"General Su Xia's Pinghai Navy represents the Imperial Forbidden Army and helps us suppress the pirates. Don't cause unnecessary trouble and don't try to defeat the navy! Don't try to defeat Salmon Island. Anyone who violates it will be harmed. The great cause of suppressing the bandits in Dengzhou cannot be accomplished!"

Magistrate Zhou Bin finished speaking in a stern tone.

The judge on the side echoed: "Everyone, do you remember?"

Regardless of whether they were reluctant or not, these people all responded in unison: "I will obey Jun's order!"

The atmosphere of the banquet ended in this scene.

The prefect Zhou Bin sat at the main table and saw off the visiting officials one by one.

Su Xia opened the treasure box that she had prepared long ago and said, "Sir, this is the large white jade glass water cup we purchased from the West! Do you want to take a look?"

In Su Xia's treasure box, there is a large glass cup forged and synthesized by Li Gaosheng and Smiling Tiger Zhu Fu. Now it is just a tall glass water cup, costing 50 to [-] yuan each.

But for ancient times when such things could not be produced, such large glass cups were made entirely of natural crystals, which was extremely rare.

Therefore, Su Xia made up such a term, which made Zhou Bin stunned.

Mr. Zhou, who is well-informed and boasts that he has studied ancient paintings for many years, looked happy.

Obviously, he was shocked by the so-called "white jade glass water cup" in front of him: "This Westerner uses this thing to hold wine?"

"Of course not, this is only used by the Western nobles in Rome, and the cost is very expensive!"

Su Xia took advantage of the opportunity and said, "Sir, I will wrap this for you and deliver it to your house tomorrow."

Zhou Bin nodded with satisfaction and said: "General Su, you were promoted little by little by me, and I recommended you to the Privy Council as the commander of the Pinghai Navy. From the time when you were the commander of Shamen Island to where you are today, you have been promoted continuously. Level [-], I hope you will not only work hard on these rare and exotic objects, but also in terms of political achievements..."

"Please rest assured, Sir, the Pinghai Navy led by me is actively training. It's just that the Pinghai Navy's armaments are lax and cannot be trained in a day or two."

"I understand that military training is not a quick process, but you have reached this point and many people are jealous? You should fight a few beautiful battles as soon as possible to show them. In addition, you and Zhang Ence, the regiment training commander, don't be angry. Also, if the Xiang Imperial Army meets with each other in battle, I will be the governor of the state."

Su Xia nodded and said: "Please rest assured, sir, I know this well. When the training of the Pinghai Navy is completed, I will lead the Pinghai Navy to destroy the Japanese pirates outside Dengzhou Wei!"