Gu Mochen waved his hand, completely ignoring his words.
They were very happy to receive fifty coins a day as a hard-earned reward!
The captain doesn't care, why are you meddling?
Making money is the most important thing.
The staff fell silent.
He thought to himself, "Nonsense, that captain is your father-in-law's man."
He looked at the veterans in the training ground who couldn't get up, his palms sweating profusely.
Ten days later.
night.
Yi Prefecture City.
The irrigation canal project progressed by leaps and bounds.
Xue Huan's men all changed their equipment.
Full of enthusiasm.
Gu Moran stood at the head of the canal.
Looking at the rushing water, I rubbed my sore wrists.
Yun Shuyue stood behind him.
"Your Highness, there's some activity at the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office."
She leaned closer and lowered her voice.
" Zhao Wuxu has recently been using the Lady Wang's name to collect quite a few bribes from several merchants in the south of the city."
The Yun Shuyue mist, a silent, gnashing of teeth.
Gu Moran rubbed the dust off his fingers.
"Let him jump. The higher he jumps, the harder he'll fall."
Yun Shuyue nodded.
He stepped back half a step and stood guard beside her.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.
A fast horse reined in outside the canal head.
The newcomer dismounted and charged straight at Gu Moran.
He was a messenger from the Zhechong Command.
"Your Highness! Commandant Zhen is waiting for you at the old Prince's residence; he says he has important business to discuss!"
The messenger knelt on one knee, his voice urgent.
Gu Moran glanced at the sky.
It was already dark.
Although Zhen Daijin has a fiery temper and speaks his mind directly.
But he's usually very disciplined, and they would never be in such a rush to call him back.
Something happened?
Without asking any further questions, he mounted the fast horse that had been prepared nearby and galloped into the city.
The night was pitch black.
A few dim oil lamps were lit in a side hall of the old Prince Yi Prefecture.
Gu Moran had just entered the room and sat down, before she had even finished serving the tea.
"Bang!"
Zhen Daijin knelt down.
His eyes were bloodshot and red.
His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.
He was clutching a crumpled letter tightly in his hand.
Su Yao was startled.
He ran out from the back room.
Seeing Zhen Daijin, he stopped in his tracks without making a sound.
Zhen Daijin knelt down and moved in front of Gu Moran.
Tears mingled with sweat as they fell, landing on the floor tiles.
"Your Highness!" His voice was hoarse, as if he were sawing wood.
Gu Moran's gaze fell on the letter in his hand.
"What happened? Get up and tell me."
Zhen Daijin shook his head, held the crumpled letter above his head, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
"This was sent from my hometown of Anyang. My younger brother, Zhen Shizhong... is working in Anyang."
Zhen Daijin gritted his teeth until they bled.
" Prince An, in his pursuit of wealth... forced his elite warhorses and battle-hardened veterans to practice circus arts!"
He was trembling all over, and his voice was shrill.
"Those are veterans of countless battles! Their bodies are covered in scars from fighting foreign enemies! And now? Forced to perform like monkeys in the training ground!"
Zhen Daijin raised his head, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
"That military leader in Xiang Prefecture is a real bastard; he's one of Prince An's men!"
They ignored it and even told others that soldiers received fifty coins a day as a hardship allowance, and everyone was very happy about it!
He clenched his fists.
It made a "click-click" sound.
"For just ten coins, the common people can enter and watch these soldiers like monkeys. They'll laugh as they're thrown into the mud!"
The side hall was deathly silent.
Su Yao gasped and took a half step back.
Her lips were pressed into a thin white line.
Is Prince An obsessed with money?
If this continues, not only will the morale of the army plummet, but the people will also lose their sense of awe.
This is courting disaster!
Zhen Daijin thought about Gu Moran's days in Yi Prefecture.
Give soldiers a share of the profits from road construction; give them dignity.
Give them steel helmets and long-handled swords.
This will allow the soldiers of the Zhechong Command to walk with their backs straight in the streets.
Then think of those comrades in Anyang who were made a fool of.
Humiliation, anger, and resentment wanted to tear him apart.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
"A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated."
Zhen Daijin slammed his head against the ground.
"Your Highness! Please say a word. Save my brothers from Anyang!"
His forehead was pressed against the cold floor tiles, and his shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
Gu Moran sat in the armchair.
He didn't say anything.
He simply watched Zhen Daijin kneeling on the ground.
He knew perfectly well that this was what he wanted.
Anyang, a strategically vital location connecting You Prefecture and Luoyang.
Gu Mochen personally smashed open the crack in the most foolish way.
Veterans must not be humiliated.
This is the bottom line.
Gu Moran stood up and walked to Zhen Daijin.
He bent down and reached out to take the letter.
I unfolded it and took a look.
Every word above was written in tears.
"Get up," Gu Moran said softly.
Zhen Daijin didn't move.
"I'm telling you to get up," Gu Moran, emphasizing his words.
Zhen Daijin clenched his back teeth and slowly straightened up.
"I am aware of what happened in Anyang."
Gu Moran looked at him and patted the letter on his chest.
"I will avenge them."
But the time isn't right yet. Those who were happy with their 50 coins should continue playing with the horses.
Those who harbor resentment should leave Anyang; Yi Prefecture needs manpower.
"Let me explain in detail... Let's start with this..."
Zhen Daijin's pupils contracted.
He didn't even wipe away his tears, and immediately drew the sword from his waist.
Cut your palm with the blade.
Fresh blood dripped onto the ground.
"This humble servant Zhen Daijin, is willing to sacrifice himself for Your Highness!"
Five days later.
Anyang.
Martial arts training ground.
Mud splattered all over Zhi Tianfeng's face. He lay on the ground, his ears ringing from the shock.
Just now, the four-story human tower collapsed beneath his feet.
The muddy water choked my nose, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.
Loud laughter erupted outside the training ground.
"He fell again! He fell again! Look at that guy down there, he can't get up like a turtle!"
"Wow, this looks great! Those ten coins were well spent today. Last night I stacked three layers, today four is even better!"
Smash it! Smash it again with a loud bang!
Those ordinary people who wouldn't even dare to look the Anyang Army in the eye in the past, now looked at them through the fence...
He munched on sunflower seeds while pointing at the soldiers in the muddy water, laughing heartily.
Zhi Tianfeng braced himself against the muddy ground, trying to get up, but a tearing pain shot through his lower back.
He gritted his teeth and forced back a muffled groan.
Prince An talks a good game, but the training is entirely voluntary.
But he's the emperor's own son!
Who dares to offend him?
Zhen Shizhong, who was next to him, fell even harder, his forehead hitting the edge of the trough stone, and blood mixed with mud smeared half of his face.
"By order!" On the high platform of the training ground, the messenger's shrill voice drowned out the laughter of the crowd.
"Too slow! Unstable formation! A nasty fall! Anyone who plays today, their pay is halved!"
Halve.
Fifty coins became twenty-five coins.
Zhi Tianfeng slowly raised his head.
His gaze passed over the messenger and landed fixed on the canopy higher up.
Gu Mochen leaned back on the folding chair covered with a tiger skin.
Two maids were carefully attending to him.
Gu Mochen didn't even glance into the mud.
He was fiddling with a jade pendant he had just acquired, talking to his advisor beside him. When he got excited, he clapped his hands and laughed.
"Big brother." Zhen Shizhong crawled to Zhi Tianfeng's side, lowered his voice, and gripped the weeds in the mud tightly with his hands.
Just trust me this once.
"I'm quitting the army!"
[Thanks to: Shion, Lina for the flowers! Haikuang's Knife, Lucky Likes x2, Sister-in-law, Poker, Nia and 886 for the milk tea, Donghai for the update reminder, and Ye Mian for the likes.]
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