The Devil's Tribulation

After Pan Chengfeng paid tribute to the villagers, he and Dachun went to see Li Xiucai. They said goodbye to their family and then set off to leave the village. Pan Chengfeng carried a small bag with a few sets of clothes and some silver. This was to conceal his identity, otherwise it would be dangerous if someone suspected that he had a magic storage weapon. Pan Chengfeng had already thought about it. His first stop was to go to Fancheng, but before that, he needed to go to Li County.

Lixian, in the backyard of the county government. Since sending away the Third Prince and Uncle Niu, Magistrate Wu has been on tenterhooks. He was afraid that someone would suddenly come and take off his official uniform. However, a year had passed and no one had come to question him, so Magistrate Wu slowly let go of his worries and went back to dancing and drinking. It turned out that the weight he had lost because of the imperial errand was quickly regained.

Magistrate Wu was hugging his concubine, drinking wine and enjoying the singing and dancing, feeling so comfortable. At this moment, Master Wu came in from outside in a hurry, and it seemed that he had encountered something big. Magistrate Wu frowned and scolded, "What's the matter? I've told you so many times, you should stay calm when encountering things!" Master Wu saw that he had disturbed his father's interest, and hurriedly explained, "Father, that Sun Erleng is getting more and more excessive!" When Magistrate Wu heard that it was that Sun Erleng again, his head hurt a little. But he still patiently asked, "What's wrong with him again?" Master Wu said, "That Sun Erleng, he said he wanted to train the troops, and he occupied the land in the south of our city! A full one hundred acres of good farmland! And it's going to be harvested soon! It is said that the third prince asked him to take the army to the border next year, and he needs to train the soldiers before going to the battlefield! So he requisitioned that piece of land first! Isn't this just riding on our heads and shitting and pissing?!"

County Magistrate Wu stood up with a 'swish' and said viciously: "That warrior is too bullying!" Seeing that his father was also angry, Master Wu quickly added fuel to the fire, "Isn't it? A small county lieutenant actually dared to bully the county magistrate! Dad, I think you should quickly write a memorial to impeach him! Let's see how long he can be so powerful!" Hearing his son's words, County Magistrate Wu shook his stomach and sat down again and said: "He only has more than a thousand people, why does he need such a large place? Isn't the original camp enough for him?" Master Wu saw his father sitting down again, and said anxiously: "Father, you don't know, in the past few months, Sun Erleng didn't know where he got the money, and he actually started recruiting soldiers. Now he has at least 3,000 people under his command." County Magistrate Wu was shocked and thought to himself: "He actually dared to expand the army privately? Is he trying to rebel?" He pondered for a while and said to himself: "Impossible, that warrior should have obtained the permission of the third prince. He has the third prince behind him, and I really can't afford to offend him. I have to suffer this loss in silence! It's so frustrating!!"

Seeing his father remained silent for a long time, Master Wu thought his father was thinking of some countermeasures, but County Magistrate Wu said, "Let him go. He will go to the battlefield sooner or later. It is not clear whether he is dead or alive. Besides, he may not come back. The land is still ours." Master Wu was stunned and asked hurriedly, "Father, are we just going to endure it? I am afraid he will get too aggressive!" County Magistrate Wu waved his hand, and the meaning was very clear, asking his son to leave and stop talking. Master Wu had no choice but to leave obediently. He was worried about the grain that was about to be harvested. One hundred acres of good land would have at least 50,000 to 60,000 kilograms of grain.

On the fertile fields of Magistrate Wu in the south of the city, a group of soldiers were harvesting crops. Sun Erleng stood aside, his mouth crooked with a smile. He had been staring at this piece of land for more than a day or two, waiting for the harvest time to grab the crops. The immortal master asked him to benefit the people of the area, but it was not easy for him to start with the civilians, so he could only think of ways to deal with the officials, gentry and landlords in Li County. Seeing that their general was right next to them, the soldiers were full of energy even though they knew that this was the county magistrate's land. Everyone supported Sun Erleng, not only because Sun Erleng gave them enough salary, but more because they admired their general's martial arts! He could lift a thousand-pound tripod with one hand! A big axe that required three strong soldiers to lift was wielded vigorously in the general's hands! It was really terrible! There were more than 3,000 people in the entire army, and there was no one who did not worship their general!

Since Sun Erleng got the "benefits" from Pan Chengfeng, his strength has reached more than 2,000 kilograms. In addition, he has been training for more than a year, and he has retrained his previous skills, and his strength has also been improved. Now Sun Erleng has a little 3,000 kilograms of strength, which is almost the same as the body refiner in the early stage of the first level of body refinement, but he does not have the terrifying recovery ability of the body refiner. I don't know whether Sun Erleng himself is gifted or Pan Chengfeng's blood is special. The strong strength also brought Sun Erleng strong confidence. After he wrote a letter to the third prince and explained his intention to expand the army, he didn't expect the third prince to support it! He also asked someone to send 300,000 taels of silver as the cost of expanding the army. Moreover, the third prince personally went to the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War to help him get the salary that had been delayed for several years, and the salary of these three thousand horses was also paid in full and never in arrears. It can only be said that it is easy to get things done with someone in the court. Now Sun Erleng and his soldiers are all labeled as the third prince, and basically no one dares to embarrass them.

Sun Erleng was just happy watching the soldiers carrying away the grains in bags. Then a voice came to his ears: "Sun Erleng, are you a robber? These grains belong to our Wu family! How dare you rob them!!" After Mr. Wu separated from his father, he thought that he had to harvest this year's harvest first no matter what, so that the warrior would not get away with it! He immediately called dozens of people to prepare for the harvest, but he was dumbfounded when he arrived. One hundred acres of grains were harvested by Sun Erleng, and he couldn't suppress his anger. Seeing Sun Erleng here, he immediately ran to question Sun Erleng. Sun Erleng didn't even look at him, and said lightly: "What are you talking about, Mr. Wu? If you don't tidy up the land first, how can you let the soldiers train?" Mr. Wu was furious and said: "What kind of perverted logic is this! You are a robber!" The guards around Sun Erleng made a "clang" sound, and all their swords were half-sheathed! Dare to insult their general! The general can tolerate it, but they can't!

When Master Wu heard the sound of swords being drawn, he came to his senses and said, "Okay, okay, Sun Erleng, you wait! Father will never let you go! You wait!!" After saying these harsh words, he left with a flick of his sleeves. He still cared a lot about his life. Sun Erleng didn't care about the words of such a small person. Even his father, County Magistrate Wu, couldn't do anything to him now. Now all the landlords and wealthy businessmen in Li County are afraid of him. In the past year, Sun Erleng used all kinds of excuses to squeeze money out of them, asking for food and silver. Even cloth merchants could not escape Sun Erleng's clutches. Didn't soldiers also have to wear clothes? Sun Erleng was now a devil in the eyes of those people. He had soldiers in his hands. If anyone dared to disobey, he would bring the soldiers to the door to find the bandits. After a search, at least several thousand taels of goods would be taken away.

Sun Erleng divided the 3,000 men into three battalions, which took turns to fight bandits near Li County. The local public security was getting better and better, and the bandits were driven farther and farther away, not daring to approach Li County easily. The people knew that Sun Erleng led troops to fight bandits and keep the area safe, and they trusted the county lieutenant more and more, and his reputation was beyond reproach. After Pan Chengfeng entered the city, he heard all kinds of legends about "General Sun" and smiled slightly, saying, "It seems that Sun Erleng is still quite capable, and I didn't waste my blood."

In the Lixian military camp, Sun Erleng and a dozen officers were having a meeting. A dozen heroic and energetic young men sat and listened to Sun Erleng's lecture: "This time, Xiao Guo did a good job in suppressing the bandits. Not only did he destroy the mountain stronghold, but he also captured the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao. I have already reported your merits to you. I believe that there will be news coming back soon." A young general immediately stood up and bowed to Sun Erleng and said, "I am just following the general's orders. I dare not take credit for it." Sun Erleng pressed his hands and said, "Sit down. Rewards and punishments are clear. This has always been my style. Those who have made contributions must be rewarded." After saying these words, his tone suddenly changed and said, "Those who have made mistakes must also be punished! Captain of the third team of the second battalion, come out and answer!"

A young general stood up and said, "I'm here!" Sun Erleng looked at the young general and asked, "I want to ask you, why did it take you half an hour to get to the designated location?" The young general's forehead was covered with cold sweat, but he still replied weakly, "The mountain road is rugged, and we are advancing in the dark. Some soldiers accidentally fell and were injured. I couldn't bear to abandon them in the wilderness, so I had to take them with me, so the speed slowed down..." Sun Erleng slammed the table and shouted, "Asshole! You don't know the priorities! You almost made a big mistake! You could have left a small team to take care of them, and took the majority of the troops to the battlefield first! The casualties of the Second Battalion and the Fifth Team might have been much smaller!"

Most of these young generals were promoted in the past year. The first reason was to win over the people, cultivate confidants, and control the army. The second reason was to show those soldiers who wanted to be generals that as long as they fought bravely on the battlefield, he, Sun Erleng, would definitely promote them. The captain of the third team immediately knelt on one knee and shouted, "I know I'm wrong! Please punish me by military law!" Sun Erleng closed his eyes in pain, tears streaming down his eyes, but he still said, "If you miss the opportunity to fight, you should be executed according to the law!"

The kneeling young general trembled, but still replied firmly: "I accept the punishment!" A group of young generals present knelt on the ground and shouted: "General! Please give Captain Ren a chance and let him make up for his crime!" Looking at the young people kneeling, Sun Erleng was still very conflicted. He spent a lot of time and effort to train these people. Now he has to kill one of them with his own hands, and he is still very reluctant. But military law is ruthless. If they are not dealt with this time, they will beg for mercy next time. What is the point of military law? But do you really want to behead this young general? Sun Erleng hesitated for a while, gritted his teeth and shouted: "This general has no way to command troops and is not strict with his subordinates! Come!" Four personal soldiers came in, and Sun Erleng took off his shirt and shouted with his bare chest: "First, whip me fifty times!"