During the second recruitment, Shen Ao included them all. This was not because of insufficient soldiers. In fact, there were still many people who signed up who were not admitted. After all, in addition to farming these days, they were given to the powerful. They worked as sharecroppers or sold themselves into slavery, and other options for obtaining work were limited.
One person joining the army can help four military relatives get jobs, and countless people flock to it. However, Shen Ao still asked Feng Wanli and others to join the army despite their quota, just to better train them.
Since ancient times, elite soldiers have all walked out of the battlefield and experienced life and death. They just practice behind closed doors every day. The effect is not to say that there is no effect, but they will not be as good as those who actually go to the battlefield to experience.
Not only Feng Wanli and Sun Fuhu, but also the security guards of Daqian Bank have more than a thousand new recruits. It is obvious that Shen Ao is preparing to train an elite force.
This is also the reason why Yan Fu and Cheng Bolin were full of praise for this second batch of soldiers being obviously stronger than the first batch.
The bigger the industry, the more it needs to be protected, which makes Shen Ao feel even more inadequate in his own strength. When your strength cannot protect your assets, danger comes. Just like the little devils of later generations, the economy does not develop well. It can be said that it is not fast, and the people are not working hard, but it is not like leeks, being cut off one after another by a certain country?
Shen Ao didn't want his hard-earned money to end up as a wedding dress for others, so he needed to have an industry that could protect him.
The three of them were still watching in front of the new barracks, watching their drills becoming more and more impressive, when the head guard Shi Lei quietly approached and whispered something into Shen Ao's ear.
...
Dali Temple.
An old man with disheveled hair was pleading with two government officials guarding here. "Please, please let me see Mr. Mu."
"Hmph! What kind of person is Master Si Qing? You just want to meet him? Leave quickly, otherwise, we will put you in jail and let you accompany your son." The two government officials were unmoved. , on the contrary, he said it in a mocking tone.
The old man ignored the ridicule and still begged bitterly, "Two officials, please go and report that our Han family has been framed and we really don't have much money now. It's Lian Zuzhai. They have all been sold, and I am willing to leave Daliang City and never see him again. Please raise your hands and let my son go."
"Oh, even the ancestral home has been sold, doesn't it mean that we have no money and are like us?" A government servant joked.
"That should be the case, but he is a profiteer. If you do bad things, you must be prepared to be punished. You can't blame others. Okay, old man, let's go. There is no way that your son will be let go for what he has done." If you have the ability, you can find a way to get some money to redeem people. If you don't have the ability, don't bother us here. Otherwise, when we two brothers get angry, we will punish you for disturbing the crime and arrest you. Then your Han family really has no chance of turning around."
The two government officials kept talking to each other, seemingly trying to persuade me, but in fact they just wanted to get more money.
Han Ce couldn't see this, but he really had no money now.
The old man was Han Ce, but after not seeing him for a while, he looked much older. First, King Xiang stopped all his salary and privileges, and he was like a useless person, just eating at home and waiting to die.
With the savings he had earned in the past, even if Han Ce could no longer make any money, the family would still have no worries about food and clothing. But everyone knew the truth of having nothing to lose, and his newly crowned son Han Zhong wanted to change it on his own.
As a result, he started a porcelain business without telling his father and others. Little did he know that this was a pit dug by Shi Zitong. All the porcelain was turned into tiles overnight, and the direct loss reached one hundred thousand taels.
silver.
The Han family could barely afford such a large sum of money. Han Ce helped repay it without blaming his son. In his opinion, young people will inevitably do wrong things. As long as they know where they made mistakes, they can correct them in the future.
To put it simply, this is called jade that cannot be pecked and cannot be used as a tool.
Who would have thought that Han Zhong couldn't figure it out, so he beat up the partner who had lied to him in a rage and walked away. But the next day, someone came from the Yamen, and the partner died overnight. This is tantamount to
A life-and-death lawsuit was launched, and Han Zhong was taken into Dali Temple.
At this time, Han Ce could not understand. This was clearly someone who had set a trap. First, he used broken porcelain to deceive his son, and made him angry while paying a sum of money. Then, he added fuel to the flames, leading to such a life-threatening lawsuit.
Now, I'm afraid it won't be enough to pay some money.
Han Ce often used methods like this, but the difference was that this time the person being designed became himself.
He knew in his heart that Han Zhong would not have killed him. Someone must have done something behind him to kill someone and put the blame on someone else. But knowing is one thing, but finding evidence is as difficult as climbing to the sky. Everyone dies.
, where is the evidence to be found?
As a father, he would never stand by and watch something happen to his son, especially if he was involved because of his own fault. That’s right, Han Ce sold the ancestral home where he had lived for many years and collected some money to give away.
After entering the Dali Temple, he revealed that he would leave Daliang City and never come back. The purpose was to let the people behind the scenes raise their hands and give the Han family a way to survive.
The money was sent, but the son was not released. Obviously, these people wanted to get the money but also wanted to succeed. This made Han Ce angry, so he came to the Dali Temple to argue, hoping to find the temple minister Mu.
Rong wanted an explanation. He had even thought about exchanging his own life for his son's. After all, he was almost forty years old, and he would have earned it if he could exchange his son's life.
He made up his mind, but he couldn't even see the real owner, so he could only mess around here with the two lowest-level government servants who he usually looked down upon. When Han Ce was angry, he had no choice but to continue to fight here.
With that, I hope to impress the other party with the sincerity that is only slightly possible.
"Okay, old man, go home right away. If you keep pestering us, don't blame us brothers for being rude." After being pestered by Han Ce for half an hour, the two government officials finally showed impatience on their faces. I originally thought that
After all, he was also the former chief staff member of Prince Xiang's Mansion, and he should have a lot of money in his hands. It was still possible to block this person and make a small fortune. But after talking for a long time, he didn't even have half of the money. The government officials finally showed their true colors.
face.
"Well done, you two. Help me spread the word. Our Han family will remember you forever and thank you." Han Ce, who had lost a penny in his body, continued to lower his head and beg, although he also knew that such words were true.
It's useless, but what else can he do?
"That's enough, we don't need your thanks, and we can't help you with your matter. Leave quickly, otherwise..." The two government officials finally couldn't help it, stretched out their hands to hold the sword, and kept pestering each other. , they looked like they were going to use force.
"What else?" A voice sounded more than ten steps away, and then a man in brocade clothes with a ruddy complexion strode over. Behind him, there were twenty burly men. Just this one The ostentation proves the extraordinary status of this person.
"Who is it? Oh... Hello, Mr. Zeng." The two government officials didn't like others interrupting their words, so they turned to look towards the place where the voice came from. At this glance, they could clearly see the person coming and what they were about to say. The threatening words were quickly swallowed back.
The person who came was none other than Mr. Zeng Tongzeng, who was once the chief staff of the Prince's Mansion and now works for Duke Zhongguo.
Someone has been keeping an eye on Han Ce's affairs for a long time, including what happened to the Han family. Zeng Tong also knew everything about it. After he reported it to Shen Ao, he stood up from the darkness at the last moment. .
It’s easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide help when it’s time!
Zeng Tong knows Han Ce very well. He is very capable and has lofty ambitions. Usually, such people also believe in the concept of loyal ministers not serving two masters. Unless necessary, otherwise, they would rather waste what they have learned than devote themselves to it again. others.
If you want to take advantage of him, you can't do it without forcing him to a certain extent. But now, in Zeng Tong's eyes, it is the critical moment. After asking Shen Ao for instructions, he stepped forward.
Compared to the two government officials, Han Ce didn't even need to look back to know who was coming. After all, one of them worked for the former prince and the other worked for King Xiang. They had been fighting for who knows how many years, and their voices were very loud. familiar.
It's just that at this time, Han Ce didn't want to see Zeng Tong. Now he was at his most depressed. Being seen like this by his former opponent really made him feel shameless.
Han Ce lowered his head and didn't even yell to go back. Seeing all this in Zeng Tong's eyes, he couldn't help but laugh. This Han Ce was still so stubborn. If it was normal, he would naturally not have the confidence to convince the other party. , but now only he can take action to save the Han family and save Han Zhong. He does not believe that Han Ce will not bow his head.
"Here, here is a letter written by the loyal Lord. Please give it to the Lord of the Temple. Go quickly." Zeng Tong also had no intention of being polite to the two lowest officials, but took it out of his arms. A sealed letter was handed to the two government servants who were standing there with some trepidation.
If you ask the officials of Dali Temple who they fear the most, Lord Zhongguo Shen Ao will definitely be ranked in the top three.
First of all, the last time the temple minister was killed by Shen Ao, this is an indisputable fact.
Secondly, the newly appointed Minister of Murong Temple was also humiliated by Shen Ao, but he had no way to counterattack.
Thirdly, not long ago, hundreds of comrades were sent to the front line of Dingzhou because of trouble with the Zhongguo Duke's government. They don't know whether they are alive or dead.