The big man has a living father

Chapter 28 Recruiting retainers
Looking at the shop, Cao Xiang shook his head.

He took a closer look and said, "I'm not drunk, am I, Brother Huo? Why are there two long lines outside your paper...shop?"

"This queue is already outrageous enough, why are there two rows?"

Huo Hai: "How much have we drunk? You'll know if you come closer and take a look."

When they got closer, a group of people saw Huo Hai and immediately nodded and bowed.

The other team of people all bowed.

Huo Hai pointed at a group of people and laughed: "Brother Cao, they are scholars and nobles who come to buy paper, and here are people who come to apply to be retainers. We are not the same kind of people, so of course we have to line up in two lines."

Some people in the queue felt insulted.

Who am I to compare myself with these stinky knights, hooligans, and craftsmen?
Some people didn't care: "We are not the same kind of people, haha, that's right, you are worthy of being the second son of Huo, such refined words come out of your mouth easily."

After all, those who are queuing up are not important people. Real important people have retainers. How could they possibly queue up to buy paper?
As a professional player who bullies the weak and fears the strong, Huo Hai certainly would not be polite to this group of people. Instead, he teased them, "Of course there is a difference. How much money do you make? If you become my retainers, you will have wine to drink, meat to eat, and a big house to sleep in. This winter, I guarantee that all of my retainers will have enough food and clothing to eat and drink."

There was a long queue of retainers lining up: "Master, you are so powerful!"

"Young Master, you are such a good man!"

The paper-buying team here: "I'll join in!"

"This bastard, he's out of breath when I say he's fat!"

"We are here to spend money, but it's like we are here to take advantage."

One of them shouted: "Wow, Master Huo, we are also scholars. We are here to buy paper. We are taking care of your business. How dare you mock us? Be careful or I will draw my sword and hit you."

Huo Hai was suspicious: "What did I say wrong? Why would you draw your sword? I'm telling the truth, how can that be considered mocking?"

That person: "Even if we are all queuing up, Lord Huo, you can't compare us with them. Among your retainers, there are not only farmers, but also hunters and craftsmen."

Huo Hai: "I, Huo, always keep my word. If you become my retainer, you will definitely live a better life than most scholars and minor nobles in Chang'an."

The scholars in line: "Hiss~ Why do you keep talking about money? It's disrespectful."

Huo Hai leaned closer, suspiciously: "I don't want to talk to you about money. I want to talk to you about poetry? Or about writing poems? Come, I'll give you seven steps to write a poem. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Have you finished it? You can't do that! Talking to you about money is the smallest gap between you and me. If we talk about anything else, I'm bullying you."

The people around laughed.

The person who spoke was not so angry anymore. He felt that what Huo Hai said made sense and he seemed to be unreasonable. Although he was a little angry, he didn't know what was wrong.

Huo Hai pointed to the front of the line of retainers and said, "Here are my criteria for recruiting retainers. Anyone who meets the criteria can come to the Huo family and eat meat."

As he said that, Huo Hai walked into the store.

Many people then took a serious look at the sign of Huo’s Paper Industry.

The sign reads, "Prince's attendant Huo Hai is recruiting retainers, recruiting inheritors of the wooden track car craft, recruiting doctors who are good at treating external injuries, recruiting pharmacists and farmers, those who know a lot of plants are preferred, recruiting rangers, the stronger the combat power, the better, recruiting farmers, those who are good at intensive farming are preferred..."

With this number, almost everyone is recruited!
What does it mean?
Although many noble families in Chang'an had retainers, generally speaking, the retainers came to your house because they saw your reputation.

The nobles did not make any agreements with their retainers, nor did they drive them away. They just kept as many as came.

It’s like when Wei Qing first became famous, all the knights in Chang’an were under Wei Qing’s command. Later, when Huo Qubing became famous in one battle, they all switched to the Huo family.

What they were waiting for was the day when Wei Huo would take a liking to them, select them into the army, and give them promotions and titles.

However, it is very rare to publicly recruit retainers, set conditions, and explain the treatment in advance.

You have to know that even in the Warring States Period, the retainers under those famous young masters sometimes had to eat coarse food and only ate what their master had.

Now Huo Hai actually offers free food and accommodation?

In fact, Huo Hai just wanted to say that the recruitment in this era is so conscientious. There is no need to mention the salary. Just saying that food and accommodation are provided is enough to attract so many people!
……

Weiyang Palace.

Liu Che was thinking while listening to Cao Xiang's story.

Cao Xiang: "Your Majesty, that's probably it. Your Majesty, is what Huo Hai said true? The Li family is now waiting for the world to be in chaos, waiting to become emperor? Isn't this preparing for a rebellion?"

Liu Che said calmly: "Then they need to recruit soldiers and make armor to be considered as rebellion. When Qin unified the country, which noble family in the six countries was not preparing for rebellion? If you think about it in your heart but don't say it out loud, it doesn't count as rebellion."

Cao Xiang was angry: "When will they recruit soldiers and manufacture armor? I will kill them for Your Majesty then!" Liu Che put his hands in his sleeves: "When the world is in chaos, Chang'an can no longer control Longxi."

Cao Xiang was discouraged: "... Isn't this... taking advantage of a loophole..."

How could I attack them when the whole country was in chaos and Chang'an couldn't control Longxi?
Liu Che glanced at Cao Xiang and said, "How can it be that simple? Will my Liu family destroy itself? If they are unlucky, they may wait for thousands of years and never get that opportunity. Moreover, even if they do get that opportunity, it may not necessarily belong to the Li family. Then, will there be no other family in Longxi?"

Cao Xiang whispered: "So, Li Guang really didn't want to be granted a title of nobility on purpose? I used to look down on him and thought he was incompetent and not as good as General Wei Qing..."

Liu Che glanced at him, his expression normal: "Do you believe it or not? Is he or is he not? Maybe he was not the first or second time, but he still found something. How can I believe it the third time?"

"They are staying in Longxi not because they are determined to seek opportunities for rebellion, but because they are just guarding the house. If they were to be exchanged for a title of Marquis, they would probably be willing to leave. However, he knows that he does not have the ability to be a Marquis, so he does not want to be a Marquis."

After reaching the second-to-last level, who doesn't have ideas about the highest throne? It would be strange if there are none. There are many ambitious people in the world, and Liu Che is least afraid of ambitious people. If someone does not show ambition, it means that he hides a greater ambition.

And anyone's ambition is to be driven to work for this court.

Cao Xiang shook his head. He felt that Li Guang was a loser.

I don’t know whether Li Guang would kneel down and cry out for injustice after hearing this, or whether he would cry out for injustice or cry out for injustice, or whether he would feel humiliated.

Cao Xiang whispered, "Your Majesty, in other words, if you want to open up the road to the Western Regions, the key now is to control Longxi, stabilize Longxi, and then stabilize the four counties in Hexi?"

Liu Che: "It's not that simple. I made Li Cai the prime minister in order to promote the salt and iron policy and at the same time let the Li family offend other families in Longxi. But now it seems that this trick is not so effective."

"Now that the General of the Cavalry is about to bring back most of the Xiongnu, the key is to arrange the whereabouts of these people. At the same time, we need to relocate some people to the four counties to stabilize them. Now the Li family is unwilling to leave, and we can't delay important matters. The only thing is to let the Li family earn a little more in this matter, so the problem now is how to make them earn as little as possible."

As he spoke, Liu Che revealed an expression of disgust and annoyance, and he found the Longxi Li family even more annoying.

After finishing speaking, Liu Che asked: "Do you have anything else you want to ask?"

Cao Xiang whispered, "Uncle, why did Huo Hai tell me the story of Lord Changping and the disputes between the nobles and relatives of the six kingdoms in the Qin court?"

Liu Che shook his head.

Liu Che understood that Huo Hai was actually saying, "I know that Your Majesty will use the past of the King of Qin as a warning to me and will punish all the relatives, but the Huo family does not want to be punished. Your Majesty, please draw a line and make conditions."

Just like the secret game when discussing whether Huo Hai should enter the officialdom, Huo Hai had started a new game, and Liu Che had not yet decided whether to play it.

Of course, Liu Che couldn't tell Cao Xiang this.

Although the Cao family is the most trustworthy family among all the nobles under the Liu family, some things cannot be said just because of trust.

Liu Che thought for a moment and said, "Actually, Huo Hai is showing off his profound knowledge and the number of books he has read. Look at him. He has never stayed in the house of Taishigong, but he knows the old stories of the Six Kingdoms."

Cao Xiang: "Speaking of Taishigong, Sima Qian, the son of the old Taishigong family, traveled around the world and came to Pingyang County some time ago. I sent people to entertain him well. I heard that Sima Qian has returned to Chang'an to get married."

Liu Che slammed his palm on the table and said, "The one I married is the daughter of the Longxi Li family. To be more precise, she is the granddaughter of Li Guang, Liu."

Although Liu's father, Liu Zhenting, was a scholar and not an official, he was just a Confucian scholar.

But the Li family and the Confucian scholars gradually became too close.

Cao Xiang scratched his head and said, "By the way, uncle, when will we fight the Xiongnu next time?"

Liu Che: "Although the Xiongnu are not good enough, they are not completely invincible. You should learn how to lead the army during this period. As long as you learn how to organize the army, the Xiongnu will not be your opponent."

When the Han Dynasty was founded, everyone thought that the Huns were powerful, but after fighting for so many years, Emperor Liu Che had already summed up the rules.

As long as the generals on their side can enforce discipline and manage the military formation well, they will be able to crush the Huns' army of the same level and number.

That is why Liu Che was able to promote so many people who needed to be promoted in one war after another.

That's why people find Li Guang annoying because he never falls for being praised so many times.

Li Guang, if you do this again next time, how are you going to explain it?
Thinking of this, Liu Che said: "Next time you drink with Huo Hai, you can ask him about the treatment of the 40,000 Xiongnu who surrendered. I want to promote the unity of the Northern and Southern Xiongnu..."

Liu Che explained his idea again.

Although Cao Xiang was not good at thinking, he had an excellent memory: "I've made a note of my uncle."

----

Thanks to book friend Yizuinan Ge for the reward!
ps: I don’t know how many readers will follow this book and what kind of recommendations I will get.

(End of this chapter)