The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

"That won't work. Everyone has their own job. Whoever gets the military pay gets it."

"My Lord, you also know that I, Sha Guanghan, am not popular in the court. No one speaks for me in the court. They just use the excuse that there is no money in the treasury to fool me. What can I do?" Sha Guanghan has suffered a lot over the years.

Wan Lianxing smiled disdainfully, "No money? How is that possible? Last year, the Emperor built a hot spring in the palace. It was a huge project that was very labor-intensive and costly. It is said that it would take at least three years to build. As long as the Emperor cuts back on his extravagant spending, let alone the seven or eight thousand people you have, even seven or eight thousand people can be well-equipped with sufficient food and grass."

After hearing this, Sha Guanghan was so angry that he slammed the table and said, "You deducted my military pay to build these useless hot springs. You are really stupid and unjust."

Wan Lianxing said, "Be gentle. The table is made of golden nanmu wood, and the tea bowl you are using is a rare colored glass cup. If you break it, I will make you pay for it."

Sha Guanghan was so angry that he had no idea what to do. What could a captain like him do to the emperor? "My Lord, please help me with another trick."

Wan Lianxing said: "Can we use this move randomly? If we fail, we will both lose our heads."

"If you have to lose a head, it should be mine, Sha Guanghan's. No matter how bad I am, I am still a man of steel. I have never betrayed anyone. Lord, please rest assured that even if a knife is placed on my neck one day, I will not betray you."

Wan Lianxing said, "I trust you, Old Sha. It will not be difficult to get money from the court. But for the sake of both of us not being in danger, I will just lend you the silver... Old housekeeper, go get the money from the account."

Soon the old butler had the box containing the money brought over.

"My Lord, would you like to open the box?"

"open."

When I opened it, I saw it was all golden.

Sha Guanghan stood up in shock. Before opening the box, he thought that what was carried in was silver.

The old housekeeper said, "Captain Sha, here are ten thousand taels of gold. Here is the receipt. Please sign and seal it."

Sha Guanghan signed his name with a flourish and placed his fingerprints on it.

"My Lord, this ten thousand ounces of gold is equivalent to one hundred thousand ounces of silver. You have lent it to me. Aren't you afraid that I will deny it?"

Wan Lianxing laughed out loud, "You hold the military power, so even if you deny it, I will still have to suffer this loss in silence."

"No, no, I am not the kind of person who repays kindness with enmity. I will definitely pay the money back, but to pay it back, I need to ask the Marquis to come up with another plan for me so that I can get the money back from the court."

Wan Lianxing said: "This is actually not difficult. It depends on whether you dare to do it."

"As long as I can do it, there is nothing I dare not do."

Wan Lianxing said: "You only need to withdraw most of the soldiers from Songchun County and leave the gates of Songchun County wide open."

Sha Guanghan said: "Withdrawing troops is not an option. Then the Yan Kingdom in the south will really invade us."

Wan Lianxing said: "There are not many civilians in Songchun County. Evacuate the civilians to Lin County. Then, when the soldiers from Yan State in the south come in, you can ask for reinforcements and military pay. This will never lead to a war. Those who have been at ease for too long do not know that danger can come at any time."

Sha Guanghan was a little worried, "What if Songchun County is occupied and we can't fight back?"

Wan Lianxing smiled and said, "Only in this way can he know that Fengying is a fortress."

Sha Guanghan said: "No, Shuangling County is also adjacent to the Yan Kingdom in the south, and that is the main road. If the two countries really fight, Fengying will be the first to be abandoned, and Shuangling County will be saved."

Wan Lianxing said: "You can't let the Southern Yan Kingdom really invade us. You want silver, right? If you don't fight to scare them, they won't give you silver next year."

Sha Guanghan walked back and forth on the ground for dozens of times, and finally made up his mind and said, "My Lord, this chess move is a bit risky, but we can try it. I will submit a letter to ask for silver, saying that the Yan Kingdom in the south is eyeing us covetously, and I urgently need silver to recruit soldiers."

Sha Guanghan was an impatient man. He acted immediately after he said something. He sat in the hall of Wanlianxing and started writing a letter.

The letter arrived at Fengying in two days after it was delivered at an express speed of 800 miles.

When the emperor saw that it was a letter from Fengying, he didn't even want to read it. However, since the memorial was already in front of him, he glanced at it anyway. After reading it, he slammed the memorial on the imperial desk and said, "This Sha Guanghan wants money again. When was the last time he asked for money?"

A minister said: "Your Majesty, half a year ago, it was time to allocate the second installment of military pay."

Another minister spoke up: "Your Majesty, there is no war going on here, so what does he need so much silver for?"

The emperor said: "He said that the Yan Kingdom in the south is eyeing us covetously and may attack Fengying at any time."

One of the ministers said, "Isn't this deceiving the emperor? If we want to attack the Yan Kingdom in the south, we should attack Shuangling County. Shuangling County is much richer than Fengying. Fengying is a place where there is no harvest. Who would attack Fengying?"

The emperor thought it made sense and said, "My dear minister, what you mean is that this money cannot be allocated to him."

"Your Majesty, not only can we not allocate this, but we also need him to reduce his military strength. Does a Fengying camp need so many soldiers to guard it?"

The emperor said: "The Fengying camp currently has only 7,000 soldiers and horses."

"Your Majesty, that's too many. A county as rich as Chaizhou only has 7,000 soldiers."

"So what do you mean, my dear ministers?"

"Four thousand. This number cannot be more than that."

"I think three thousand five is enough."

Everyone expressed their opinions, and the upright ministers were no match for the treacherous villains. Finally, the emperor believed the slander and issued an order on the spot, not only refusing to give money, but also requiring the military force to be reduced by half.

When Sha Guanghan received the imperial edict, he cursed his mother. He led his men to find Wan Lianxing at full speed, "This incompetent emperor does not do any real work."

If he didn't go find Wan Lianxing to scold the emperor, he would not be able to vent the anger in his heart.

Wan Lianxing still smiled and said, "What's wrong, Captain Sha? You are so angry."

"This dog emperor, not only did he not allocate military pay to me, he even asked me to reduce the number of troops. Isn't this ridiculous?"

"You only have 7,000 soldiers, how can you reduce them?"

"He asked me to reduce the number by half." Sha Guanghan was so angry that he almost killed someone. "This is the frontier. Three thousand five hundred people can't defend it. Once the gate here is broken, the Southern Yan Kingdom will have to fight all the way to Chaizhou. If they fight step by step, they will soon reach his Golden Palace in Bianjing."

"Oh, he doesn't care about your life or death, and you still think he can sit firmly on the throne. You are worrying too much. If you can defend it, then defend it. If you can't, then don't defend it. It's him who doesn't pay the soldiers. It's him who reduces the troops more than you time and time again. If we lose the battle, it's his decision-making mistake."