Chapter Thirty-One: Uncharted Territory

  Looking at Lu Hong's furious expression, Gao Yuan knew that he was truly angry. Before, he had only seen Lu Hong's caring and protective side towards himself, but it seemed that this time his actions had struck a sore spot, or rather, made him feel unable to control the situation. Since he had paid out full wages here, Zheng Xiaoyang's team would inevitably make similar demands, and when the team from Juliguan returned, they would definitely do the same. They didn't care whether the money was privately raised by himself or issued by County Magistrate Lu; what they were worried about was not having enough, but rather not having an equal share. In the past, everyone had been equally poor, and although it was tough, no one had starved to death. But now that one team of people who used to be just like him had suddenly become wealthy, it was inevitable that others would feel envious. If Lu Hong didn't agree, the army would inevitably become unstable, and once unstable, something would happen, and Lu Hong's position as county magistrate would be in jeopardy. As Lu Hong said, Zhang Shouyue had many men under his command, but the county magistrate only had a dozen or so; who knew how many people were eyeing this position?

  But sending the full salary is also not feasible. Because as Lu Hong said, Liaoxi County has more than a dozen counties, Fufeng County is just one of them. If Lu Hong does this, he will become a target. Maybe Zhang Tai's soldiers in Liaoxi County have never been paid in full either. Lu Hong set such a precedent, and even Governor Zhang would be unhappy. If Governor Zhang is unhappy, then County Magistrate Lu Hong's term will come to an end.

  It's no wonder that Lu Hongnuo was furious, Gao Yuan did this, stirring up all the county magistrates of Liaoxi Prefecture and even Zhang Taishou's cheese. This is what Gao Yuan did, if it were someone else, Lu Hong would have taken him down long ago.

  Having figured out this section, Gao Yuan's brain quickly turned around, thinking about how to get Lu Hong to agree to this matter and also participate in it. In his previous life, Gao Yuan was unable to control his own destiny, the people he followed were just wealthy, far from having power, although they had a certain influence in the underground society, but in front of national authority, they were still vulnerable to attack, and even so, they easily took their lives. Reborn into this era, Gao Yuan understood many things, his current era was more cruel than his previous life, if he wanted to live well, to protect himself and those he loved from harm, then he must have enough power.

  Lu Hong pinned his hopes on Zhang Taigong, but he didn't know if Zhang could actually do it. To get to where he was now, Zhang must have stepped on the blood of countless people. Lu Hong had no idea how much Zhang valued loyalty and righteousness, but he knew that when the time came to make a choice, Zhang would sell him out without batting an eye.

  If you have no power, then nobody will respect you.

  But these ideas are too lofty and won't be understood by Lu Hong even if he says them. What method can I come up with to get Lu Hong's support for myself?

  Looking at Lu Hongtu's face, Gao Yuan suddenly thought of someone and had an idea in his mind.

  "Uncle, I'm doing this not for others, but for Big Brother's sake! I want you to do the same as me, also for Big Brother's sake!" Gaoyuan stood up and walked behind Lu Hong, gently massaging his shoulders, saying softly.

  "What does this have to do with your older brother? We are martial artists, and he has taken a different path. What I need to do now is provide him with enough funds so that he can focus on studying under Li Dajia. Once he completes his studies, with Li Dajia's reputation, he will surely be able to secure a good position for himself. Ah, I've treated you like my own son since you were young, so you should understand this matter.

  Lu Hong narrowed his eyes and said, "This matter ends here. Even if it was released this year, that's the end of it. Starting tomorrow, it is strictly forbidden, even if you use your own money to make up for it."

  "Uncle, don't be angry, I'll tell you in detail!" Gaoyuan said with a smile. "After you told me about my brother's affairs last time, I've been thinking about it ever since. Just as you said, Li is famous all over the world, and being able to enter his school is a blessing. Once he graduates, he will become a guest of honor among the rulers of various countries, and getting an official position will be no problem at all. However, uncle, have you thought about it? You are just a county magistrate, and in Fufeng County, you are a number one figure, but once you go out, even in Liaoxi Prefecture, how many people know you?"

  Lu Hong turned his head and looked at Gao Yuan, "Gao Yuan, what do you mean by this?"

  "Uncle, I'm saying that in the future, Big Brother should be able to obtain a position that matches his knowledge and abilities in places like the county or Ji City. However, if he wants to secure this position, make it stable, and even take another step forward, can you do it with just your humble status as a county lieutenant?" Gaoyuan said softly, turning to face Lu Hong.

  "You, you are..." Lu Hong's eyes were slightly suspicious.

  "Uncle, so we must make early plans to lay a solid foundation for our elder brother's future, and grow a pair of strong wings for his later flight. And to achieve all this, we must have great power, making everyone not dare to underestimate us, not dare to underestimate our elder brother."

  "What does this have to do with giving soldiers their pay?" Lu Hong was puzzled.

  "Uncle, you're such a clever person, how come you're so muddled at this time?" Gaoyuan said: "In this world, what's the most reasonable thing? Fists, whose fist is harder, who says what's reasonable. You say it isn't? Zhang Taigong wasn't also an ordinary citizen by birth, why can he now sit stably in the position of Governor of Liaoxi County, isn't it because he has three thousand soldiers under his command? And with just one order, can you people all gather a few thousand more for him at any time?"

  "I understand!" Lu Hong's eyes showed a hint of panic, "But Gao Yuan, I'm just a county lieutenant, with only 300 men."

  Gao Yuan burst out laughing, "Uncle, if 300 people are well-trained and can take on ten times their number, what more could you ask for? Besides, didn't you say before that a county lieutenant can command up to 500 men, it's just that we can't afford to support them. That means we can still openly recruit another 200 people. With 500 people, if you have an elite force far surpassing the combat strength of Zhang Tai's provincial troops and loyal only to you, do you think Zhang Tai would dare to arbitrarily replace you?"

  "You're right!" Lu Hong was also a military man, naturally knowing the truth that power comes from the barrel of a gun. Zhang Taiyao, as a commoner, could break through the aristocratic monopoly on power and carve out his own path, thanks to having such a group of brave followers under his command. But maintaining an army costs money, where would we get the funds?"

  "Uncle, how could you forget Magistrate Wu?" Gaoyuan laughed and said.

  "Is this wine business really so profitable?" Lu Yuan was somewhat skeptical.

  "Uncle, for now, we're only in Fufeng County, so the profit won't be too much, but it's enough to support these 300 soldiers. If you want more, that's not possible. So, we need to do our best to help him expand his business and promote it throughout Liao Xi Prefecture. This is also why we want to bring in Zhang Taigong. The bigger the business gets, the more money we'll make. The more money we make, the more soldiers we can support. With more soldiers, we'll have enough strength to expand our sales area. Once Zhang Taigong tastes the sweetness, he'll definitely give us his full support. It's like a snowball effect - it'll get bigger and bigger. This forms a virtuous cycle. Not to mention expanding beyond Liao Xi Prefecture, just within the prefecture alone, we can easily support 1,000 soldiers. Uncle, to be honest, our soldiers are easy to support - they're satisfied with food, clothing, and some meager pay." Gao Yuan said confidently.

  "When we have enough strength, we can even sell wine to the Xiongnu people and the Donghu people. It's colder on that side than on our side, so this strong wine will sell better."

  Lu Hong smiled and said, "You go to those people's place to sell wine, more than half the time you can't even get your capital back. Those people don't care about integrity, if they take a liking to something, they might just rob you of it."

  "So we need to have a strong military power, you dare to rob me, I'll cut your throat, and then rob you clean!" Gaoyuan's eyes gleamed with ferocity, his hand made a slashing motion in front of his neck.

  Looking at Gao Yuan's fierce and menacing expression, Lu Hong blinked his eyes, as if he had just recognized Gao Yuan.

  "Haoran, how come I didn't know you had such skills?" Lu Hong asked.

  "What's so special about my nephew?" Gaoyuan laughed and said: "Isn't it what you said last time that my brother's future is bright? I was thinking, how can I make my brother's future even brighter? If my brother's future is bright, won't I be able to bask in his glory too? Since I'm not good at studying, I can only think of ways from the perspective of martial arts."

  "Good job!" Lu Hong patted Gao Yuan's shoulder, "Gao Yuan, all these years, I haven't wasted my efforts on you."