Chapter Thirty: The Red Tide of Spring Passion (Three)

  After the rain stopped, Qing'e fell asleep, exhausted. However, Zhou Wenbo, who no longer needed sleep, did not have the interest to meditate today.

  The still plump and soft body in his arms reminded him that he had ended his virginity on a maiden's body in this world.

  The whole person's heart seems heavy, no longer a world where one person struggles and fights alone, but has the warmth of home.

  Zhou Wenbo was like he wanted to vent his first sex/love in this life, and the degree of his vitality surprised himself. After experiencing **falling red**, Qing'e endured the pain and responded to his repeated demands.

  He knew that the girl in his arms had turned all her remaining life into a heavy weight, pressing on him. He had to bear it, take on this responsibility, which was what men had to undertake.

  It was then that he suddenly discovered Hong Zhuang curled up at the foot of the bed, her entire body shrunk into a ball, like a lazy cat.

  It was only then that he realized that the girl in red might have witnessed the entire battle between him and Qing'e, which left him somewhat speechless.

  And today, suddenly mentioning Qīng'é's current situation to herself, was probably also Hóngzhuāng thinking of a way to help her good sister Qīng'é.

  It's really hard for this child.

  Afraid she would catch a chill in the middle of the night, Zhou Wenbo still got up and picked up the sleeping girl, putting her by his side.

  He lay in the middle of the big bed, tightly embracing the girls on both sides with his hands, as if he had possessed the whole world.

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  When Qing'e woke up from her sleep, she found that the sky outside the window was already bright. At this time on ordinary days, she had been working for at least two hours. She was frightened and hurried to get up and prepare breakfast for Young Master.

  As her body moved, a wave of pain came from below, and it was only then that she suddenly realized what had happened the night before. The bloodstain on the towel under her brought out a thread of joy and shyness.

  "Qing'e, from now on you are my woman. In the future, even if I get married, there will still be a place for you in this household. Don't worry, I won't abandon you."

  Zhou Wenbo had not fallen asleep yet, and as soon as Qing'e made a sound, he reacted.

  "Master, I...I should cook now..."

  "These days don't do anything else, you've just become a woman and need to rest well. I'll let Uncle De send two more maids, and you can be in charge of directing them."

  Zhou Wenbo stopped the woman's actions and immediately promoted her.

  "Uh-huh, I'm listening." Qing'e responded softly, like a little wife, without opposing him.

  So breakfast was sent over from the backyard, and Zhou Wenbo even asked for a few more eggs to help Qing'e supplement her body.

  At noon, Zhou Wenbo and Zhou De discussed in the hall.

  "Uncle De, are there still helmets and weapons as well as war horses in the mansion?" Zhou Wenbo was eager to start developing military power. The Zhao Guo Gong Fu could recruit a personal army of its own, also known as the "Ya Jun", relying on the Zhao Guo Gong seal to appoint a large number of officers from the seventh rank of Zhongzheng to the ninth rank of Peirong, without needing to obtain the consent of the Emperor or the Xiumi Yuan.

  "Young master, there are still five sets of Mingguang armor, twenty sets of Shanwen armor, twenty sets of fine scale armor, and fifty sets of lock armor in the mansion. They are all high-quality ones selected by the old master from the Liang army's armory after capturing Luoyang. There are also hundreds of leather armors. The weapons are mostly single-edged swords, with over a dozen strong bows and ten halberds. However, the war horses were mobilized by the old master when he went to conquer Shu, and currently there are only over a dozen fine horses left in the mansion's stable."

  Zhou De is indeed worthy of being the chief steward of the Zhao State's imperial palace for thirty years, and he is extremely familiar with all matters in the palace.

  Ancient weapons were not uncommon, such as bows and arrows, swords and the like. Many scholars, common people, and hunters had them in their homes, but helmets and armor were extremely valued by the ruling class.

  In the peaceful years, if a noble family privately stored armor and helmets, it was almost equivalent to wanting to rebel. Only in this chaotic world, as a military commander, could they privately store various armors without being held accountable.

  "How many acres of land are there in the mansion? How many are currently abandoned?" Zhou Wenbo continued to ask.

  "The total arable land is 50,000 mu, of which about 30,000 mu are wasteland." Zhou De replied.

  50,000 mu is already a very large number. If it weren't for the Zhao Guo Gong Fu's signboard, whoever has so much land would inevitably be exploited by the government and warlords.

  Since the late Tang Dynasty, many years of war have resulted in a sharp decline of more than half of the population, with young and middle-aged men suffering heavy casualties, resulting in large areas of land being abandoned.

  However, these wastelands were not lands that refugees who had fled from war could cultivate at will. The deeds to these lands were all in the hands of wealthy and powerful families. When the refugees first began to open up the wasteland for cultivation, they would not be driven away. Instead, it was only when autumn arrived and the harvest was ripe that they would come, severely punish the refugees, take away all their grain, and then leave with a flourish.

  Zhou Wenbo tried to make an issue out of this matter after understanding the situation.

  He plans to draw on the methods of later dynasties.

  Household Contract System

  The land still belongs to the Zhao State Duke's mansion, but it can be rented out to landless refugees who have no one to cultivate and abandon the wasteland, with land allocated according to the number of people. The grain harvested will be levied by the Zhao State Duke's mansion at a certain proportion, which will not be too high.

  And in the first year, they not only don't deduct any money, but also provide them with some subsidies for food and seeds.

  Of course, only military dependents can get this opportunity. As soon as this policy is released, the Zhao State Duke's Mansion will not only be able to quickly recruit a new army of relatives but also have room for selection.

  And relatives and family members were all tied to the land of Zhao Guo Gongfu, I suppose these soldiers also had to fight bravely for the benefit of their families.

  He thought of this and again called his guard Liu Meng.

  Liu Meng had also served as a ninth-grade accompanying Rong school lieutenant, and still had some grassroots experience in leading troops. Currently, the military personnel and generals of the Zhao State Public House were either dead or still trapped in Shu, so he could only find someone who looked reliable to be responsible for training new recruits first.

  Zhou Wenbo and Liu Meng had a detailed discussion with Zhou De, understanding some basic situations such as the method of recruiting soldiers, salary, food consumption of soldiers and other series of problems. Then in the afternoon, they drafted a plan of more than 3,000 words, preparing to perfect this plan within these few days, and then start recruiting new soldiers.

  Writing with a brush on this kind of paper in ancient times was a very troublesome thing, far from the speed of typing on a computer. In his previous life, he could finish 3,000 words in half an hour at his peak, but now he spent five or six hours thinking and writing, and these 3,000 words of "Recruiting Soldiers and Pacifying People" were actually finished by him in five or six hours.

  In the afternoon, Zhou De indeed brought two more maids.

  These two maidservants were only sixteen or seventeen years old, and their appearance was quite delicate. According to Zhou De, one of them was a distant niece of Zhou Wenbo's sister-in-law, and the other was a close relative of Old Lady Lü. They were both honest and obedient people who did whatever they were told to do.

  Zhou Wenbo didn't say much more and instead had them go pay their respects to Qing'e, telling them that all the work would be arranged by Qing'e.

  Qing'e, although new to her position, was not flustered at all. She directed the two maids with ease and efficiency, and even got to experience the treatment of a mistress ahead of time.

  At night, Zhou Wenbo still slept with Qing'e and Hong Zhuang, the two beautiful women, while the two new maidservants slept in the original positions of the two maidservants.

  Zhou Wenbo gently held Qing'e, who was experiencing lower body pain, and instead of continuing to work, he intimately hugged her, then gave her a few deep kisses, finally coaxing the two into a peaceful sleep.