Madam, She Has a Tender Heart

Twenty days later, Su Qingyu heard the good news. read

The bandits in Baijiazhai and Muwasai were wiped out, some surrendered, and some fled. Now all the bandits in the village have been driven away. The village was returned to the hands of the villagers.

Master Ma took people to clear out the nearby stockade. The bandits in nearby villages also fled after hearing the news. Many village owners came with their villagers to seek refuge.

A few days later, Ma Mingwen returned to the governor's office with 28 letters of surrender.

Discussed behind closed doors with Pei Nian.

"What are you going to do?" Pei Nian asked.

Twenty-eight letters of submission were spread out on the table, covering the entire table. They were all handed over by the village owners on their own initiative. He doesn't even want it.

Maybe it was because I was frightened. Once I was taken over, I was afraid that there would be a second chance. Seeing that Ma Mingwen had driven away the bandits, many people came to hug him, hoping to get Ma Mingwen's protection.

Who knows if those bandits will come again after Ma Mingwen leaves.

This time the bandits took over, and there were some casualties in each village. Some of the villages were almost completely killed by the bandits. The village owners were also frightened. In troubled times, investing in a reliable force may be more secure and can keep the village and its residents safe.

Ma Mingwen tapped his fingers on the table and moved his eyes back from the twenty-eight letters to Pei Nian.

Pei Nian leaned against the back of the chair, with a face full of rejection: "Don't look at me. This thing is hot to the touch."

"I only know how to fight and kill, but I'm not as familiar with general affairs as you." Ma Mingwen didn't really want it either.

"Besides, I can't stay in Renzhou forever. I will leave in a few days."

After hearing this, Pei Nian glanced at him and straightened his expression: "Like me, take over a piece of land and make it bigger, isn't it?"

Ma Mingwen thought for a while and shook his head: "It's not suitable now. Maybe it's okay to have a stable life. But now there's chaos everywhere, and it's impossible to let you grow bigger."

Pei Nian was silent and said: "It's not appropriate for me to take this. I'm still a minister of the Shuo Dynasty. If I take this, what will happen to the Hunan side? More than half of the Seventy Villages in Jiangdong are on the Hunan side."

"How am I going to manage these letters after I collect them? Originally, the mountain people have not paid all their taxes. No one knows how many people there are in the village. They have no land. They have to pay a household tax of Ding and a small number of servants. When they enter the mountains, they hide in the mountains. Do you know how many households there are in his village? Over the years, they have turned a blind eye to these villages. "

"Besides, if I want to accept these letters of surrender, will the Hunan side also want to collect letters of surrender from the villages in their territory? If they refuse, it will cause resistance and implicate the village here."

Ma Mingwen also knew that what he said made sense: "But it's useless for me to come. I won't stay here. I don't even know where I will go in the end. There is no one to trust me."

They both fell silent.

Pei Nian was a scholar, well versed in public affairs and economics, and he quickly thought of a solution.

He suggested: "In this way, I will put all the mountain deeds where these villages are located in your name. You will send people to manage them, and you will help them solve any problems they have. With you here, they will feel at ease, and they will not be in vain." You. They were also frightened by the bandits."

"What's the point of me coming?"

Ma Mingwen still refused.

After Liniang passed away, he felt that he was a rootless person, with no home, no care in this world, and no matter where he went. After overthrowing Shuo Chao, he could go find Liniang and her children without any worries.

He didn't want to deal with these things.

This time he took action, just for the sake of Su Qingyu.

Pei Nian was a little anxious.

"How can it be useless? Think about it, you are not, so what, do you want to do big things? To do big things, no one must have money? If you don't have money, how can you buy weapons? You can't pay people when you recruit people? You can't be old. You rely on killing, robbing and picking up, right? You have to have your own way to make money. Can you compare with your own money by robbing others?"

"Besides, you have been fighting those bandits, a bunch of rabble, for twenty days. You are still not a good hiding person in the mountains!"

Ma Mingwen listened quietly. I think what he said makes sense.

Pei Nian saw that his heart was moved, and then said seductively: "When the time comes, send your wounded soldiers to the mountains to recuperate, and let them help you train troops in the mountains and develop the economy. The mountains are high and dense, and as long as you have a good grasp of the mountain pass, no one can break in." ? You must not arrange a way out for those who have followed you through life and death? Find a place of honor for those who have lost their arms and legs? "

Ma Mingwen's eyes gradually gained a glimmer of light.

Pei Nian knew at a glance that his heart was moved, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He really didn't want to accept these submissions.

One is that it is too hot to handle, and the other is that he does not want to increase fiscal and tax revenue for Emperor Shuo.

His annual income from Renzhou was not enough for Emperor Shuo to banquet guests and reward his concubines. Why should he use the people's hard-earned money to satisfy their endless desires! Do that thankless thing!

It’s not like his brain was kicked by a horse.

The two of them talked it through. Ma Mingwen went back to his room and thought about it all night.

The next day he found Su Qingyu.

"Ah, me?"

Su Qingnao thought she heard wrongly. Master Ma wanted to hand over the management of the Twenty-Eight Villages in Jiangxi to her?

"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to leave this to the Governor?" Su Qingyu was a little confused.

"It's not easy for the governor to take care of this matter. All the villages in the mountains have never properly counted the population or collected taxes. If he wants to take over, it means that the imperial court will take over. If the imperial court takes over, it will formally collect taxes from the mountain people. , the mountain people must not be willing to levy Ding tax and various taxes. "

Su Qingyu understood it.

Therefore, mountain villages have always been considered a land without owners, and they have been fought over and driven out. He was probably frightened and wanted to find a force to seek refuge with and seek refuge.

"Master, then you..."

Ma Mingwen shook his head: "That's not my ambition."

Su Qingyu glanced at him. She knew that he only had one thought in his mind, which was to overthrow Shuo Chao.

"Then master, how about you send someone to take care of it?"

The burden was a bit heavy, and Su Qingyu was afraid that she wouldn't be able to bear it.

"I don't have anyone who understands economics and general affairs. I can kill them. Master, no one can trust me, and I believe in you. You did a good job when you opened the store before. You escaped with your family again, you have If you are capable and courageous, I will leave this matter to you, Master, don’t worry.”

This trust doubled Su Qingyu's pressure.

She thought she had no problem with the general affairs and economy, but she didn't have the force and was afraid she wouldn't be able to suppress it.

Ma Mingwen looked at her frowning and said: "As for the manpower, some of them have recovered from injuries. I will leave them to be raised in the mountains in the future. When the time comes, they will be there to intimidate them. Over at the Governor's Mansion, Mr. Pei I will also send someone to help you. Just go ahead and do it. This may be my, Pei Nian’s, and Bo Cheng’s way out.”

Ma Ming looked at her steadily, and his last words were a little heavy.