Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

After dinner, Xia Mingyuan put his hands behind his back, walked with the gait of an Eighth Master, and went straight to the county government office.

Zhang Wei called a few Qilin Guards to follow him closely, with alert looks on their faces.

"Hey, Commander Xia, you're finally here."

"Come here, what are you still standing there for? Serve tea to Commander Xia!"

When Sun Yaozu saw Xia Mingyuan, he quickly forced a fake smile on his face.

Sun Wenju no longer had the arrogance he had before, and followed his father obediently. He raised his head and looked at Xia Mingyuan with some resentment, then lowered his head again.

"Lord Sun has summoned me. How dare I not come as the commander of the small guards of the princess's mansion?" Xia Mingyuan curled his lips and spoke with sarcasm.

The corners of Sun Yaozu's mouth twitched, but he still suppressed his anger and smiled as he asked Xia Mingyuan to sit down.

"Commander Xia, to be honest, I invited you to the county government office today to inquire about the bandit suppression. Commander Xia, how are your preparations going?"

"As long as the bandit problem in Hanyang is not eradicated, the people of Hanyang will never be able to live in peace."

Hearing this, Xia Mingyuan couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

Xia Xue's guess was right. The father and son of the Sun family acted like officials and asked him to come to the county government office just to suppress the bandits.

If he hadn't come today, if an imperial envoy had been sent from above, then Sun Yaozu could have completely shifted all the blame.

But now that he is here, Sun Yaozu has this attitude.

This made Xia Mingyuan feel a little alert.

These two, the old man and the young man, probably couldn't hold their fart well.

Thinking of this, Xia Mingyuan simply laughed, "Master Sun, we agreed on a month's time, and it's not even ten days yet. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"No matter how urgent the matter of suppressing the bandits is, we can't do it all at once. I will consider this matter when I get back. You and your son should wait for notification at the county government office."

"But don't worry, we agreed on a month, and it's a month. I, Xia Mingyuan, will never let those bandits live even a single day longer."

The smile on Sun Yaozu's face slowly froze. After a long silence, he finally sighed helplessly and said, "Master Xia, our bet is indeed for a month, but now the imperial envoy is coming to Hanyang to inspect the administration. If this bandit problem is not eliminated, I'm afraid everyone in Hanyang will be disgraced."

Xia Mingyuan chuckled and said calmly, "Master Sun, as the county magistrate, you must understand the principle that impatient people can't eat hot tofu, right?"

"Without adequate preparation, you rush to suppress the bandits. If the battle goes badly, I, Xia Mingyuan, will lose a lot of money."

"Besides, I'm not an official, nor a clerk. I'm just a guard at the Princess's residence. I'm afraid the imperial envoy won't be able to find me no matter how hard he tries. What does your so-called shame have to do with me?"

"Xia Mingyuan, don't be shameless!"

The corners of Sun Wenju's mouth twitched, and he could no longer suppress his anger and was about to burst into curses.

"Shut up, Wenju! Don't be rude to Commander Xia." Sun Yaozu glared at his son, suppressing his inner anger. He turned around and said indifferently, "Commander Xia, since you have accepted this mission to suppress the bandits, I will naturally supervise you. But if you continue to behave this way, don't blame me for reporting the truth when the imperial envoy arrives!"

Xia Mingyuan sneered and stood up. "Master Sun, it seems like you are threatening me?"

"Well, since you're willing to report it, then it's up to you!"

After saying this, Xia Mingyuan turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute!"

Sun Yaozu was a little panicked and raised his voice a few degrees.

"Commander Xia, it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. Although there are some grievances between you and me, we are both in Hanyang after all. You accepted the task of suppressing the bandits but were passive in doing so. If this really gets to the higher-ups, I'm afraid Her Royal Highness the Princess will also be impeached!"

Hearing this, Xia Mingyuan stopped and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Damn Sun Yaozu, he actually dared to threaten him with his aunt!

Seeing this, Sun Yaozu breathed a sigh of relief and said calmly, "I don't ask you to completely wipe out the banditry in Hanyang, but you have to do something!"

"The Poison Dragon Gang is powerful, so we can stay put for now. If we can wipe out the bandits in Frost Blade Village before the imperial envoy arrives, then we can live in peace, okay?"

Xia Mingyuan turned around and looked at Sun Yaozu with a half-smile, "Sir Sun, what good will this do me? You can't just take advantage of me while I do the hard work, right?"

Sun Yaozu's expression froze, and he said gloomily, "I wonder what benefit you want, Mr. Xia?"

"Of course we need some food and military pay." Xia Mingyuan said with a grin.

"Humph, I'm penniless now, so I can't give you any money!"

Hearing this, Sun Yaozu's mouth twitched slightly.

After only ten days of dealing with Xia Mingyuan, he had to pay out a total of 250,000 taels of silver, and was also defrauded of 30,000 taels by the people from Fengyu Tower!

This loss alone is enough to offset the three years he spent in this position.

"Master Sun, what are you talking about?" Xia Mingyuan shook his sleeves. "We are all doing this for the people of Hanyang. Are you so reluctant to spend such a small amount of money?"

"My conditions are simple. Just supply my army with a month's supply of food and fodder. I will dispatch troops to destroy the Frost Blade Village before the imperial envoy arrives."

"Commander Xia, this is absolutely impossible!" Sun Yaozu's face was gloomy. "How much silver would it cost to provide a month's supply of food and fodder for an army of two thousand men?"

"Unless you can use the 130,000 taels we bet on, I will never agree to this."

"That won't do!" Xia Mingyuan glanced at him. "Those 130,000 taels were a personal bet between you and me. What we're discussing now is official business. If you, Lord Sun, refuse to provide more food and fodder, then I can do nothing to help you!"

"If Lord Sun can't wait, you can dispatch the soldiers from the city defense camp to suppress the bandits from Handao Village yourself."

"you…"

Sun Yaozu's face turned pale. He was silent for a long moment before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "I can agree to your terms, but you must send my son Wenju to lead the army!"

Xia Mingyuan frowned when he heard this. He didn't expect Sun Yaozu to put forward such a condition.

Is this old guy trying to place spies around him?

Moreover, Sun Yaozu put a lot of thought into it today, and his attitude changed 180 degrees. Apart from suppressing the bandits, he probably wanted to send his son to live with him.

No matter how you look at it, you always feel that this old fox has bad intentions.

However, compared to a month's supply of food and fodder for the army, this matter is not beyond negotiation.

Anyway, with Sun Wenju's ability, even if he really has bad intentions, he can't cause much trouble.

Thinking of this, he raised his head and glanced at Sun Yaozu, and said calmly: "Since Lord Sun has spoken, then let Master Sun go to my place to supervise the army."

"But Lord Sun, we have a deal. Starting tomorrow, my people will come to you to coordinate food supplies. You'll be responsible for feeding those 2,000 people for the next month!"

After saying this, Xia Mingyuan turned around and left without even looking back.

Sun Yaozu and his son Sun Wenju gnashed their teeth and stared at his departing back, their faces ashen.