Volume 1: White Body Cold Gate Chapter 18: Black Wind Soldiers

  "A room, daily necessities, and half a tael of silver!" Those 'Cui' private soldiers looked at me in disbelief. In this era, who would have thought that being a private soldier could be so well-treated? Normally, they were crowded together, sleeping on top of each other, barely scraping by on the meager rations handed out by their masters.

  "Is what you said true?" a private soldier asked timidly.

  "When a certain person never speaks falsely, the words spoken are like arrows shot out!" Wen Han's eyes were clear and bright, his tone sincere and solemn, giving people a strong sense of conviction.

  One hundred and fifty "Choi" each quickly weighed the pros and cons in their hearts, and after a while, one hundred and twenty people were willing to surrender to Wen Han. The remaining thirty people had something to do with the Choi family and left reluctantly. Wen Han did not stop them and ordered someone to untie them, letting these thirty people go back.

  Wen Han ordered Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang to search the manor and report back on how many rooms and valuables it had. After a while, Pei Yuanshao returned first and reported: "Inside the manor, there are 676 small houses, 12 medium-sized houses, 5 large houses, 1 master house, occupying 7 mu of land. The remaining armory, kitchen, drill ground, horse farm, etc., occupy 3 mu of land, and there is also 10 mu of farmland."

  At this time, Li Qiang also returned to his senses. After Pei Yuanshao finished speaking, he made a bow and continued: "In the village, there are 300 iron spears, 200 iron swords, 300 bows, 3,000 arrows, 600 helmets and armor, as well as 20 sacks of grain (one sack is equivalent to 100 catties, enough for 100 people to eat for several months), and 30 horses. No gold, silver or jewels were found, presumably because they were taken away by the Cui family's men and horses last night.

  "Hmm, the Cui family is clever, knowing to take away the valuable things first. However, these things are enough for our current needs. From now on, the soldiers and horses of Heifeng Fortress will be named 'Heifeng Soldiers'. This matter is only known among us privately, don't spread it out. This troop will be led by Pei Yuanshao. And those 120 private soldiers from Cui's mansion will be led by Li Qiang in the future as my personal guard."

  You two, take your subordinates to choose rooms and settle down. From now on, every day at the sound of the rooster's crowing, start training them for three hours a day. In the afternoon, order them to go down to the fields to farm, also for three hours a day. Tell them that this land is theirs, this grain is their food, don't make excuses or think it's shameful to do these things. As for the rest of the time, you two arrange it, but remember not to stir up unnecessary trouble!

  Here is the translation:

  "They arranged their daily schedule like this. At the gambling house, Pei Yuanshao, you select 100 people every day to help out at the gambling house, taking turns. Once everything settles down, I will start executing my plan and hold a 'horse racing' competition, which will require a large number of hands. In short, training, farming, and the gambling house - these three things, you two arrange them well for me, understand?"

  The courtyard was quiet, Wen Han looked at them and read many things from their incredible expressions. In this era, when private soldiers were treated so well, it was rare to see. It was thought that Wen Han was just talking, but when the matter was settled, it was a different attitude.

  Especially Pei Yuanshao, who originally thought that Wen Han would hold power tightly in his hands, did not expect Wen Han to actually give him the power, which made Pei Yuanshao's heart bloom with joy and his inner self extremely excited.

  When the Black Wind Troops and the Imperial Guards came to, there was a burst of excited shouts. Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang knelt down on one knee to receive their orders, from today onwards they would have a brand new identity.

  "Oh, speaking of the gambling house, I remembered something. Ma Zong's problem needs to be solved too. Li Qiang, secretly contact Ma Zong's people and see if you can bring some people over. If not, it doesn't matter. Just tell them that I only give them three days to choose, after three days, I will take people to wipe out Ma Zong's gambling house!"

  Wen Han suddenly remembered something and immediately instructed Li Qiang. Li Qiang had just been promoted and was worried that he didn't have a chance to show off, so he quickly accepted the order and already had several targets in mind.

  "Alright, everything has been arranged. Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang'er, you two can now take some men to select houses. Let the Black Wind Troops who have made contributions choose first, so there won't be any complaints. From now on, it will be the same, whoever has more merits will get more benefits."

  "Pei Yuanshao, listen to me carefully. Don't think that just because you have a good relationship with someone, you can open the back door for them. Here, everyone is my literary and military talent. It's not about relationships, it's about achievements. If you want to enjoy good food and accommodations, you'd better train hard and make many contributions in the future, then you'll be able to get them. Do you understand?"

  Wen Han led his troops with the idea that, to some extent, he was influenced by later generations' thoughts, and would not only favor relatives, but rather use people based on their merits. In this way, the people under him also became more proactive.

  Because Wenhan gave them hope. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can get what you want, hope.

  In ancient times, the aristocracy held power, and those with influence were all trusted members of the aristocratic families. Even if you had great abilities, without a certain family background, you would inevitably lead a difficult life.

  Hei Fengbing and the newly joined guards, a total of five hundred people, looked at Wen Han with admiration. In their hearts, they thought that they had followed a good master who was different from others.

  With the new living quarters, every private soldier looked happy. Under the arrangement of Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang, they began to move into their own rooms in an orderly manner. Since there were 676 small houses, it was not difficult for Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang to allocate them. Every private soldier accepted the allocation with a smile on his face.

  As for some people with achievements, like Li Gou Tui Zi who made great contributions in the battle against Huang Le, Wen Hantian ordered him to live in a medium-sized room. Pei Yuanshao and Li Qiang were assigned to large rooms. The largest master room, of course, belonged to Wen Hantian.

  However, Wen Han did not move in for the time being. This place is far from the county's casino and it is not convenient to operate the casino business. In the next few days, Wen Han planned to go to the casino to observe and see what details need to be improved. Seeing that Wen Han had not checked in, Li Qiang also stubbornly refused to move in, saying: "I am the follower of the young master, where the young master is, I Li Qiang will naturally be there!"

  Wen Han didn't force him, and there was indeed someone following him around, so he let Li Qiang continue to stay with him at the Zhou residence.

  At the same time, in the main hall of the Cui Mansion in Xie County.

  Chui Shi's family head 'Chui Wang' was listening with a cold face, the housekeeper who had just been driven away by Wen Han's troops and returned to the mansion reported.

  "Haha. Alright, yesterday Yang Hongyuan seized more than half of the property I gave to Huang Le, and today he was robbed by that young man of his estate, and even forcibly took 120 of my private soldiers. Fine, very fine!"

  Choi Wang's anger reached its peak and he burst out laughing, scaring the butler so much that his whole body was trembling.

  "Master, Yang the county magistrate is not someone we can afford to offend. But that young man is indeed detestable, a petty person has already informed Master and Imperial Censor 'Gao Wang' are acquainted. However, that young man doesn't care, still leads people to rob our estate. Why don't Master go to the capital..."

  "Shut your dog mouth! That young man has Yang Hong's token, and Yang Hong is an official appointed by the imperial court, representing the imperial court! I went to the capital to tell that young man that he was unreasonable, let alone such a small matter, and yet he dares to find fault with High Official Gao. Isn't this telling High Official Gao that we, the Cui family, are incompetent?"

  "Yes, yes. I am ignorant, please forgive me." The steward of the Cui family hastily knelt down on the ground, not daring to raise his head. He was afraid that Cui Wang would vent his anger on him and take his life.

  "That young man has a strong and brave army, and also has Yang Hong's support. If I fight with him now, even if I win, I won't get much benefit from it. Let this matter rest for now, but I've taken note of this. I hope that young man doesn't do anything wrong, otherwise I'll make sure he ends up without a place to bury his body!"

  Choi Wang, as the head of the scholar-official class, knew how to weigh his options and made up his mind after careful consideration. However, looking into his eyes, one could see a deep-seated hatred for Mun Han.

  By noon, the rooms for the Black Wind Troops and the Imperial Guards had all been allocated. Wen Han and Li Qiang, Pei Yuanshao were chatting in the main hall of the manor.

  At this time, Zhou Luan rushed into the courtyard on horseback with a worried look.

  "Brother, brother! How could you not inform me of such a big matter? Is it because you see that I'm not skilled in martial arts and can't defeat the enemy, so you're looking down on me?" Zhou Lin said breathlessly as he dismounted his horse and approached Wen Han and others who were sitting in the main hall.

  Wen Han hastily came forward to greet him, and also knew that Zhou Lian was referring to the matter of seizing the village today: "Brother Zhou, you have just taken office. Such a small matter, don't bother you."

  "Oh dear, what a nuisance! Didn't you say we wouldn't be separated? Why are you being so distant! I'm asking you, are you moving into this estate now? Are you going to abandon your brother and sister-in-law?"

  Wen Han heard this and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time: "Where would I go? Sister-in-law's cooking is unparalleled in the world, without sister-in-law, I wouldn't be able to eat. Moreover, even if I were to move into this estate, I would definitely let Brother Zhou and sister-in-law move in together with me. Otherwise, who would take care of my stomach?"

  Zhou Luan's originally unhappy face suddenly lit up with a smile: "That's right, that's right. Although my brother's wife doesn't have any good qualities, her cooking skills are unmatched. Younger brother, I'll go home and let her prepare dinner for tonight, you remember to come back and eat later. Li Qiang and Pei Yuanshao will also come together, we'll continue our big drunk fest tonight."

  Li Qiang and Pei Yuanshao hastily agreed. Zhou Lin said a few more words to Wen Han, then mounted his horse and left.

  This sudden change left Li Qiang and Pei Yuanshao bewildered. Wen Han, on the other hand, felt an unparalleled warmth in his heart, knowing that Zhou Long was reluctant to part with him because their bond was so deep, having gone through life and death together. In Zhou Long's words, his relationship with Wen Han was even closer and more intimate than that of blood brothers.

  In the evening, Zhou's residence.

  Under Wenhan's strong request, Lin sat down at the dinner table. Several people started eating with their hands (there were no chopsticks at that time), enjoying their food without any restraint, just like a big happy family having dinner together.

  After a while, when they were full and drunk, Wen Han asked Lin Shi, who was in charge of the gambling house, about the situation.

  "Since two months ago, when Wen Shu-zi invented the horse-drawn cart, the income of the gambling house has been increasing continuously. Especially with the continuous promotion of the horse-drawn cart, the income of the gambling house this half month is almost twice that of last month. We have also expanded from one gambling house to three. The number of horse-drawn carts in the gambling house has increased from 70-80 tables to 200 tables."

  Today's income, just from commission alone, has reached two hundred taels. However, there are also many problems.