The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Sha Guanghan said: "I have raised soldiers for so long, why should I just cut them down?"

Wan Lianxing said, "You dare to disobey my order? If you want to be known as a rebel, just continue to do as you please."

Sha Guanghan then sat down on the chair as if he was deflated, "I plan to write another memorial and submit it."

Wan Lianxing said, "Old Sha, I am doing this for your own good. I have been with the Emperor for many years, and I can guarantee that if you write another memorial, you will lose your position."

How could Sha Guanghan accept this? "I am a captain with a large number of troops under my command. Who dares to take my position so easily?"

"I know you have 20,000 men under your command. That's a considerable number, and it's very impressive to hear that." Wan Lianxing changed the subject, "But if you had strong soldiers and horses, they wouldn't dare to touch you easily. Unfortunately, you've been short of food and grass for years, and 20,000 soldiers can't beat their 5,000 elite troops. They won't even blink an eye if they give you your position."

Wan Lianxing was telling the truth, but Sha Guanghan was so furious after hearing what Wan Lianxing said that he overturned the table next to him. His strength was amazing, and the priceless rosewood table was instantly broken into pieces.

Wan Lianxing's face fell, and he said coldly: "If you dare to throw a table at me again, I will make you leave lying down."

Sha Guanghan quickly explained: "I didn't throw you, Lord. I was just angry. How can I tell my soldiers? They joined the army to reduce the corvée labor for their families and have food to eat. Now they can't be soldiers anymore. I can't swallow this humiliation."

The wealthy Wan Lianxing immediately made a decision: "I will pay 30,000 taels, and you give 2 taels of silver to each retired soldier. With these 2 taels of silver, no one will blame you, and the corvée will be reduced in the future. If these people run away, who will do the corvée? No one is doing it for nothing."

Yan Qilian said: "This?"

"No need for 'this' or 'that'. No money is allocated from above, and there is no one below. All corvée labor should be exempted for me. I will be paid if I work in the future. I will see who will run away again."

The moment Wan Lianxing saw Yan Qilian for the first time, he knew that his deputy was his nemesis. He controlled him, reminded him, restricted him, and pestered him every day. Yan Qilian never made any mistakes. This man was really difficult to deal with. Up to now, he had not seen any great talent in Yan Qilian. At most, he was just honest and not greedy.

"My Lord, what if this gets out to other counties?"

Wan Lianxing said unhappily, "You are my county magistrate, don't act like you are afraid of everything. Am I afraid of getting the news that I exempted the corvée? Besides, I exempted the corvée of my own camp, not other prefectures. The money I used from the beginning to the end was from my own pocket, so it doesn't bother others. Even the emperor can't ask me why I spent my own money to supplement the corvée."

Yan Qilian felt that every word Wan Lianxing said made sense. He said excitedly, "My Lord, you are wise. If this is the case, the people of Fengying will definitely not be able to leave from now on."

Wan Lianxing said: "The purpose is not to keep these people, but to attract people from other counties to Fengying."

Yan Qilian said, "My Lord, you are wise. I will send people to other counties to spread the news tomorrow."

Wan Lianxing said: "That's right, this is what you should do."

At this time, a man came to report, "My Lord, there are a group of old men knocking at the gate, saying they want to confront you."

"Are you sure? You're looking for me? I don't know any old man."

"My Lord, it's correct. They kept saying they were looking for you. We tried to drive them away several times but failed. They said they wanted to argue with you, otherwise they would not leave."

Wan Lianxing said, "Is there such a thing? Bring it in so I can see it."

Soon a group of old men were brought in, and one of them spoke first: "My Lord, you are dishonest and you are bullying us old men."

Wan Lianxing took a closer look and asked, "Are you the old men on the mountain?"

The old man asked, "Do you still recognize us?"

Wan Lianxing said, "Yes, I do. You guys talked to me for a long time. You even cut sugar cane for me to eat. How could I forget?"

"Does what you said still count?"

Wan Lianxing said, "It counts. What I said on the mountain that day counts. You must have encountered something. You can tell me directly."

An old man stood up and said, "You said the sugar factory doesn't pick and choose people, they want everyone, but they don't want us, and they said they don't want me who has a leg disease either."

Wan Lianxing naturally remembered what he had said himself. Even though it was just a casual remark, it was worth a thousand words and could not be disputed. "There is such a thing, Yan Juncheng, please explain it to me."

Yan Qilian was confused. He didn't know what request Wan Lianxing agreed to for these old men. How could he explain it? He could only stand up and talk about the matter. He said respectfully, "My Lord, this is also a last resort. If we don't use the young and strong, how can we use a group of old people?"

Wan Lianxing said sternly, "How did you do what I told you to do?"

"I..." Yan Qilian felt wronged. Wan Lianxing had never asked about the affairs of the sugar factory, nor had he ever told him to arrange a few old men to work in the sugar factory. He was the county magistrate of a county, and these trivial matters were not his business. However, seeing Wan Lianxing's angry look, Yan Qilian had to take the blame on himself. He was such a high-ranking county magistrate, but he could only be a scapegoat in front of Wan Lianxing. After all, a higher-ranking official can crush a lower-ranking one. This man was a marquis, so he had to swallow his anger even if he gritted his teeth.

Wan Lianxing was majestic and aggressive, and he immediately offended Yan Qilian, "Do as I tell you, don't go against my will."

Yan Qilian really didn't know what to do. "My Lord, this is not easy to handle. Normally, there are not enough people. Once the sugar factory was built, people surrounded it. Everyone came to look for work. People from far and near came."

Wan Lianxing said, "You are worried about having no one in Fengying, and you are still worried now that there are people. I want to know, what do you want to do?"

Yan Qilian said, "My Lord, we can't all come to work at the sugar factory. We don't need so many people."

Wan Lianxing's face darkened, and he said bluntly: "If you can't handle this trivial matter, I think you should stop being the county magistrate of Fengying."

Yan Qilian could only follow Wan Lianxing's wishes, "My Lord, let me think of a solution."

Wan Lianxing said: "Don't let the thing on your neck be just for show, move it now."

When Yan Qilian heard this, he thought that this was just scolding him for being brainless. Wan Lianxing was really a black-mouthed person. He didn't show any mercy to so many people. What was he wrong about? But what could he do to Wan Lianxing? He had to agree to everything. "Yes, Lord."