Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law

Chapter 143
After some experiments, Chen Mo discovered that the cloud-chasing arrows he fired had the locking and tracking effect only within a hundred steps, but not beyond a hundred steps. He could only aim by himself.

But it's still very gratifying.

Back in the city, as soon as they entered the Yamen, Zhang He and Sun Meng came over.

Chen Mo inspected Sun Meng for more than ten days and found that he was quite compliant, so he let him go a little bit and let him sit in the yamen, just to keep an eye on the Xia sisters.

"What happened?" Chen Mo saw the anxiety on Zhang He's face and asked him first.

During this period, three thousand garrison troops were also established. Chen Mo transferred Zhang He, Su Wen, Su Wu, and Su Qi to be responsible for training this group of garrison troops. Zhang He was the leader among the four.

According to Zhang He, none of the three thousand garrison came from the same place, and there were all kinds of people, and some of them came from the Tianshi Army under Yuan Youchun.

This group of people had not received training. They were just a group of ruffians, and they were a group of ruffians who had robbed their homes. This led to bad habits in the army, which gradually affected the originally honest soldiers, especially when they vividly told how the robbery was "happy" After the incident, others also felt a little ready to make a move.

If it weren't for the fact that the current leaders and captains of the garrison were old men from the Divine Guard, Zhang He would have been worried about losing control of the garrison.

Hearing this, Chen Mo understood.

After all, he just wanted to straighten things out, and he didn't need disobedient and dangerous elements.

The reason why these people took refuge in him is simply that the Tianshi Army is now standing still, and the "pleasurable things" of looting before can no longer be done. Without the joy of looting, the treatment of the Tianshi Army is actually very poor, so I heard that Ping Ping After Tingxian's treatment was good, he immediately "changed jobs".

"Find these dishonest people and kill them all. In order not to cause a mutiny, I will ask Han Wu to dispatch several teams of brave guards to suppress them." Chen Mo looked murderous.

Wild dogs that have eaten human flesh must be killed, otherwise they will always think about eating human flesh, and these rat droppings must be cleared away as soon as possible, otherwise they will ruin the pot of porridge.

"No." Zhang He was shocked. The gentleness of the county for more than 20 days made Zhang He forget Chen Mo's decisive and ruthless killing. Now hearing these words, he knew that the young man in front of him had not changed at all. .

Later, Chen Mo called Han Wu and asked him to cooperate with Zhang He.

After the two went down, Sun Meng said: "County Magistrate, Liu Ze can get out of bed and is recovering well. Should we control him?"

Liu Ze, the seventh-level guard next to the Xia sisters, had been bedridden after being injured by Chen Mo, and he has almost recovered.

"No need. This person is a general of the Xia family and is loyal to the Xia family. The two ladies of the Xia family are in the Yamen, so he will not mess around. Besides, the two girls are already my women. I can definitely win him over. First, Just explain the reason to him and then take him to see the two ladies."

Chen Mo has a set of combos waiting for Liu Ze, otherwise he wouldn't have kept him until now.

Sun Meng nodded and said immediately: "County Magistrate, Xia Lin has sent you a letter. I will put the letter on the desk where you usually work."

Arriving at the main hall, Chen Mo frowned after reading the letter.

This letter was written by Yang Minggui, and it was stamped with his seal. Although the letter was very subtle, it was just one sentence, if you want money, the more the better.

I learned from the letter that Yang Minggui was expanding the Xialin Yamen, using a lot of manpower and material resources.

The reason why Chen Mo concluded that he asked for money was because the letter said that Yang Minggui wanted to build a palace and specially reserved a room for him. However, building a palace would cost a lot of money, so Chen Mo was asked to contribute part of the funds. .

The exact number was not stated in the letter, but building a palace would obviously cost a lot.

Based on Chen Mo's limited historical experience, most peasant uprisings failed for one reason: in the middle and later stages, they were greedy for enjoyment, became increasingly corrupt, and became disconnected from the people.

It seems that the Tianshi Army has also embarked on this path.

Tapping his fingers lightly on the table, Chen Mo was thinking about whether he should give the money, and if so, how much should he give?
Chen Mo found Zhao Daoxian, showed him the letter, and asked him if he had any ideas.

Although Zhao Daoxian was a down-and-out scholar, he had lived for most of his life, and he still understood some of the ways of the world, and said:

"Since the county magistrate needs the banner of the Heavenly Master Army, he still has to give the money. If he doesn't give it, firstly, he will make the other party angry, and secondly, it may break the current tranquility of the county."

"Then in Master Zhao's opinion, how much should I give?" Chen Mo pondered while fiddling with the gavel on the table.

"It shouldn't be too much. Otherwise, the other party will know how wealthy our county is and will ask for money from us every now and then."

After Zhao Daoxian became the chief secretary, he immediately began to study the government affairs files that Chang Yuan had handled before. After these days, he also understood some ways of being an official.

He continued: "Does the county magistrate need his help?"

"I need red copper from Xialin County." Chen Mo said.

"Then the county magistrate can first write a letter to lament the poor, explain the difficulties of our army, and hope to get his help. If he refuses, we will offer to buy a batch of red copper. It doesn't matter if he increases the price or not. He gets With the money, we also got copper, and we also solved the problem of this letter.”

Zhao Dao thought about it for a while and then said.

Chen Mo slapped the table and praised: "This is a great plan."

It would be better if Yang Minggui agreed to help them. He could get a batch of red copper for free, and finally transport the money there to use it as funds to support Yang Minggui's palace construction, and this problem could still be solved.

"Then please trouble Lord Zhao to write a letter for me personally." Chen Mo said.

"Working for the county magistrate is the right thing to do."

Zhao Daoxian said without any complaint.

When he was young, the reason why he studied and wanted to gain fame was because he wanted to be an official, serve the country, and make decisions for the people.

It's just that things didn't go as he wished. After being admitted as a scholar, he repeatedly failed in the subsequent provincial examinations. Later, when he got older and became discouraged, he gave up on this idea.And now, Chen Mo gave him this opportunity.

He really wanted to prove himself in the last days of his life. What happened to the scholar?I may not be inferior to those classmates who passed the exam.

When Zhao Daoxian was writing a letter, Chen Mo called Hu Qiang. Zhao Daoxian had just finished writing. Chen Mo asked Hu Qiang to clean up and left for Xia Lin immediately.

……

Qingting County.

The city gate was open, and a few thin soldiers of the Tianshi Army were sitting in the shade and taking a nap, carrying a broken gun.

In the open lapel, several ribs can be clearly seen.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, several soldiers opened their eyes slightly. After seeing the person clearly, they stood up unsteadily and said: "Commander He."

At this moment, several women's whining sounds came from the sack tied to the horse, and several soldiers suddenly had strange expressions.

He Jinwu, who was on horseback, didn't even look at anyone, and headed towards the city.

When He Jinwu walked away, a few soldiers dared to whisper: "This must be another little lady kidnapped from outside."

"Tsk, tsk, which number is this?"

"This is already the seventh one. I heard that the six young ladies he had kidnapped into the house before were all tortured and died miserably."

"My cousin is a soldier next to Commander He. He told me that among the six young ladies, there was a pregnant woman. When they were being tortured, Commander He asked the other's husband to watch."

"... "

He Jinwu returned to his mansion. The so-called mansion was just a house of a noble family that the Tianshi Army robbed after they captured Qingting County. He Jinwu just ordered his subordinates to carry sacks into the mansion, and a soldier left in a hurry. He came over and said, "Commander He, the general is looking for you."

At the Qingting County Yamen, Yuan Youchun was drinking and having fun in the backyard room. He saw a beautiful woman in tulle who was once the concubine of the Qingting County magistrate, dancing gracefully.

There was another woman lying in Yuan Youchun's arms. This woman was the concubine's daughter. She was nervously twisting a preserved fruit and putting it into Yuan Youchun's mouth.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and after receiving Yuan Youchun's response, a figure stepped in.

"Father, are you looking for me?" He Jinwu's eyes swept over the dancing woman, and there was a trace of fire in his eyes. He was afraid of being discovered by Yuan Youchun, so he quickly lowered his head.

In the Tianshi Army, it is very common for adopted children to be adopted.

He Jinwu was Yuan Youchun's adopted son, and Yuan Youchun was Yang Minggui's adopted son. Moreover, three of Yang Minggui's five generals were Yang Minggui's adopted sons.

And Yuan Youchun was the strongest among Yang Minggui's three adopted sons. Otherwise, Qingting County, which owns Salt Lake, would not be in Yuan Youchun's hands.

"Jinwu, here we come."

Yuan Youchun waved his hand, and the two women immediately walked out like a trot.

He Jinwu walked closer and sat down.

Yuan Youchun poured a glass of wine for He Jinwu, then took out a small bag from his arms and threw it to He Jinwu.

"Father, what is this?"

"You'll know after you open it, dip a little, and taste it."

He Jinwu opened the bag and followed the instructions, then frowned: "Is it salt?"

"Yes, to be precise, it is fine salt, which our spies brought back from Quanyang County." Yuan Youchun said.

Hearing this, He Jinwu looked surprised: "There is such fine salt. How much does this salt cost?"

Yuan Youchun stretched out two fingers: "One half a pound."

"Hiss." He Jinwu took a breath of cold air. The coarse salt on the market now only costs more than 100 yuan per pound, and the highest is no more than [-] yuan. The fine salt is actually ten times more expensive than the coarse salt.

"The spies said that this fine salt came from Pingting County. During this period, Pingting County purchased a large amount of coarse salt from us. I suspect that this fine salt is related to the coarse salt purchased from us." Yuan Youchun said.

Hearing this, He Jinwu was shocked again. If this was really related, how much would Pingting County earn?

Speaking of which, He Jinwu had a grudge against Chen Mo, the current magistrate of Pingting County.

If that boy hadn't suddenly taken refuge with Qu Shuai, Pingting County would probably belong to him now.

"Then the adoptive father is looking for me?"

"I want you to go to Pingting County to inquire and see if this fine salt really comes from Pingting County." Yuan Youchun said.

"Don't worry, foster father, leave it to me."

(End of this chapter)